There are a lot of things to consider before travelling to Albania, one of which is the available prepaid phone cards in the country. Currently, there are four GSM and 3G prepaid phone operators in Albania, namely: Albanian Mobile Communications, Vodafone Albania, Eagle Mobile sh.a. and PLUS COMMUNICATION (PLUS).
The mobile prefix for Albania is +355. Their currency is, 1 Albanian Lek = 0.0071 Euro. The electricity available in Albania is 220 Volts with an electrical frequency with 50 Hertz. Time Zone in Albania is GMT +1 (CET).
GSM and 3G Prepaid Phone Operators in Albania
The first prepaid phone operator in Albania is Albanian Mobile Communications. This mobile communications company was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Tirane, Albania. Currently, Albanian Mobile Communications has a customer base of 1.8 million or 52% market share. The prepaid phone card name for Albanian Mobile Communications is called “Albakarta.” The activation fee for this prepaid phone card is ALL 420 with 35. Albakarta prepaid phone cards are valid for 6 months after their activation. The net frequency for Albanian Mobile Communications is GSM 900/1800. The logos for this prepaid phone card are AMC MOBIL and AL AMC with a net code of 276 01.
AMCKARTA is the voice tariff under Albakarta that offers all calls for ALL 33.00
**All rates include VAT at 20%.
Additional Services and Costs:
Messaging:
- SMS – ALL 20.40
- MMS – ALL 20.40
**To activate MMS, send ‘MMS’ to 1510
Voicemail: Voicemail service available, rates are unknown
International Calls:
- Calls to Cosmote Group (GR, MK, BL, RO) – ALL 79.20
- Neighbour countries – ALL 120.00 (ALL 81 to TIM Italy)
- Europe Zone 1 – ALL 145.20
- Europe Zone 2 – ALL 158.76
- Extra Europe – ALL 241.20
International Roaming: International roaming service for Albanian Mobile Communications available, see here
Debiting Method:
- National calls – 30/1
- International calls – 15/1
Refills and Validity:
- ALL 100-999, 1 month
- ALL 1000-10,000, 6 months
The second prepaid phone operator in Albania is Vodafone Albania. This telecommunications company was founded in 1982 and is headquartered in Tirana, Albnania. Their products and services includes: post paid and prepaid phone plans. The prepaid phone card name for Vodafone Albania is called “Vodafone Card.” The activation fee for this prepaid phone card is ALL 600 with 500 credits. Vodafone Cards are valid for 12 months after their activation. The net frequency for Vodafone Albania are GSM 900/1800 and WCDMA 2100. The logo for this prepaid phone card is vodafone AL with a net code of 276 02.
There are two voice tariffs under Vodafone Card, namely: Vodafone Card and Vodafone Club. Vodafone Card offers: calls to Vodafone for ALL 30.00, calls to land line for ALL 24.96, calls to Albanian Mobile Communications for ALL 35.88, calls to Eagle for ALL 38.40 and calls to PLUS for ALL 45.60. Vodafone Club offers: calls to Vodafone Club for ALL 24.00, calls to land line for ALL 54.00, calls to Vodafone and Albanian Mobile Communications for ALL 54.00, calls to Eagle for ALL 56.40 and calls to PLUS for ALL 63.60.
**All rates include VAT at 20%.
Additional Services and Costs:
Messaging:
Vodafone Card
- National SMS – ALL 18.00
- International SMS – ALL 20.00
- MMS to Vodafone – 15.00
- Other National MMS – 36.00
- Other international MMS – 80.00
Vodafone Club
- SMS to Club – ALL 5.88
- Other national SMS – ALL 12.00
- International SMS – ALL 18.00
- MMS to Club – ALL 6.00
- Other national MMS – ALL 24.00
- International MMS to Vodafone – 15.00
- Other international MMS – 72.00
Voicemail:
- Leaving Message: ALL 54.00 – € 0.45
- Retrieving Message – ALL 27.00
Data Calls:
- ALL 0.7332/10KB
- Daily Bundle – 30 MB for ALL 60/day
- Weekly Bundle – 200 MB for ALL 300/week
**Call 131 for activation. Billing is at 10MB increments
International Calls and Roaming: International prepaid phone calls and roaming service for Vodafone Albania available, see Vodafone Card and Vodafone Club
Debiting Method:
- Vodafone Card – 15/1
- Vodafone Club – 30/1
Refills, Credit and Validity:
- ALL 1000/1000/6 months
- ALL 2000/2000/6 months
- ALL 5000/5000/6 months
The third prepaid phone operator in Albania is Eagle Mobile sh.a. The company was established in 2008 and is headquartered in Tirana, Albania. The prepaid phone card name for Eagle Mobile Albania is called “Prepaid.” The activation fee for this prepaid phone card is ALL 400 with 300 credits. The net frequency for Eagle Mobile Albania is GSM 900/1800. The logo for this prepaid phone card is Eagle Mobile with 276 03 as its net code.
Standard is the voice tariff under Eagle Mobile that offers calls to Eagle for ALL 26.40, calls to land line for ALL 24.00, calls to Albanian Mobile Communications and Vodafone for ALL 30.00 and calls to PLUS for ALL 40.80.
Additional Services and Costs:
Messaging:
- National SMS – ALL 16.20
- International SMS – ALL 18.00
- MMS to Eagle – ALL 16.20
- Other national MMS – ALL 36.00
- International MMS – ALL 80.00
Voicemail: Free of charge for each first message. If users listen to the same message again they will pay ALL 8.10.
Data Calls:
- ALL 0.25/10KB
- Datore – 50MB for ALL 100, valid 1 day (To activate: text DATORE to 55755)
- Javore – 250MB for ALL 600, valid 1 week (To activate: text JAVORE to 55755)
- Mujore – 800MB for ALL 2000, valid 1 month (To activate: text MUJORE to 55755)
International Calls:
- Zone 1 (Greece, Italy, Macedonia (FYROM), Turkey, Vatican, Kosovo): ALL 66.00
- Zone 2 (Andorra, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Rep., Estonia, France, Germany, Hungary, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Switzerland, Tunisia) - ALL 102.00
- Zone 3 (Algeria, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Denmark, Egypt, Faroe Is., Finland, Georgia, Gibraltar, Iceland, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Morocco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Ukraine, UK) - ALL 102.00
- Rest of the World – ALL 144.00
International Package (text a blank SMS to 55111, the offer is valid 30 days):
- Zone 1 – ALL 46.80
- Zone 2, 3 & 4 – ALL 54.00
International Roaming: International roaming service for Eagle Mobile Albania available, see here
Debiting Method: 30/1
Refills and Credits:
- ALL 500/550
- ALL 1000/1120
- ALL 2000/2280
- ALL 5000/5750
The fourth prepaid phone operator in Albania is PLUS COMMUNICATION (PLUS). Plus Communication Albania is the fourth mobile operator in the country that is headquartered in Tirana, Albania. The prepaid phone card name for Plus Communication Albania is called “Miqtë Plus.” The activation fee and validity of this prepaid phone card is available upon request. The net frequency for Plus Communication Albania is GSM 900/1800. The logo for this prepaid phone card is Plus with 276 04 as its net code.
Miqtë Plus offers all calls for ALL 28.80, calls to Plus for ALL 0.144, SMS to Plus for ALL 1.20, other calls for ALL 14.40 and SMS to others for ALL 7.20.
Additional Services and Costs:
Messaging:
- National SMS – ALL 14.40
- International SMS – ALL 18.00
Data Calls: ALL 0.408/10KB
International Calls: International prepaid phone calls available, see here
International Roaming: International roaming service for Plus Communication Albania available, see here
Debiting Method: 30/1
Refills and Credit: ALL 1000/1000; Plus ALL 100 valid for 90 days, 100 minutes to Plus, 50 SMS to Plus and 50MB of surfing valid for 7 days