Belize Telephone and Telecom Services

Telephone calls to and from Belize are not cheap.

However, there are several ways to get a better deal and this includes international callback services, the internet, using your smart phone's WIFI capability, local phone cards and bringing your own cell phone.

In Belize a long distance call that covers only 50 miles can be as expensive as a call from Washington to London.

And with competition now being introduced, rates are falling, especially for long distance calls. However, the advice about avoiding telephone calls from hotels applies double in Belize.

As in all countries, hotels slap on a generous commission for themselves on all telephone, fax and Internet service. Some condo-hotels advertise "Free" telephone service but if you look closely enough this is only for incoming calls. To call out you need to use your credit card or phone card.

Belize Pay phone Service

There are approximately 467 pay phones located countrywide - and you will notice from the picture - they are proudly turned out in tropical colors!

These pay phones are card only (do not accept coins); therefore a customer will need to always have a BTL Pre Paid card handy in order to make a call from a pay phone. Customers will be able to dial the following numbers (free):

90 - Emergency 911 - Police 113 - Directory Assistance 115 - Operator Assistance 119 - Fault Repair 0-800-PROTECT 0-800-CALL-BTL

To dial Belize from abroad, use the Belize country code (501) followed by the 8 digit telephone number.

To dial a number outside Belize, dial 00 followed by the code of the country you are calling, along with the actual telephone number.

Belize TELCO Assessment

Above-average system in Central America; trunk network based primarily on fibre optic underground network backed up by microwave radio relay

Domestic: fixed-line teledensity of 10 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular teledensity roughly 55 per 100 persons

International: country code - 501; landing point for the Americas Region Caribbean Ring System (ARCOS-1) fiber-optic telecommunications submarine cable that provides links to South and Central America, parts of the Caribbean, and the US; satellite earth station - 8 (Intelsat - 2, unknown - 6) (2008)

In 1999, BTL signed an agreement to be a part of the ARCOS-1 Project by becoming the landing party in Belize and purchasing capacity on the cable. The project reached the shores of Belize on July 21 with works continuing through to August 3, 2001, connecting one cable from Belize to Tulum, Mexico and another from Belize to Puerto Barrios,
Guatemala. The entire cable ring is was completed by the end of 1999 and is currently managed by by Columbus Networks.

ARCOS-1 makes available to Belize Telemedia Limited sufficient capacity and improved quality for voice telephony, high-speed data transfer, multimedia services and any other digital communications required to any part of the world. This cable system compliments the traditional satellite international communications provided from the earth station in Belmopan. The ARCOS-1 cable system provides enhanced reliability and protection for Belize's international communication to the outside world.

Due to the monopoly control of BTL by the government of Belize that expropriated the company from its private owners the Ashcroft Group in 2009, telecommunications rates in Belize remain the highest in Central America. The expropriation is the root of a long lasting series of court cases in Belize and the U.K.

After numerous complaints of shoddy email services, Belize Telemedia Ltd. outsourced its email service in 2011 to a third-party reseller.