Calling cards slash costs

| 08/03/2011

(CNS): Former political candidate and local businesswoman, SandraCatron, has begun a new local service that cuts rates for international calls on cell phones to a fraction of the current cost. Global SIM cards offer incredibly cheap rates for people making and receiving overseas calls or those who are using their cell phones when overseas. The SIM cards, which give the user a US and a UK global number, have been on the world market for almost a decade but Catron is the first person to bring them to the Cayman Islands. They can be used in any unlocked mobile phone and after a one-off fee for the SIM card, international calls are then a fraction of the rates of local cell phone providers. Catron said she did a lot of research on the types of SIMs available before bringing them to Cayman. (Photo Dennie WarrenJr)

“I’m very excited about the product and thus far the response from the local market indicates that it’s something that is long overdue and a welcomed addition to the market,” she said in the wake of the card’s arrival in Cayman.

With access to two numbers in one card, users can receive calls on either of those numbers so family, friends and business associates overseas can now call you without paying an international fee, and calls made when you are overseas are slashed.

“You can travel to 160 countries and be accessible no matter where you are. When you travel, especially to North American and Europe, you realize savings of up to 90% on roaming rates,” she added.

Customers receive a packet that contains the pre-paid global SIM card and all information they will need. “It’s 1 SIM with two numbers,” she said. “One UK (global number) and one US number that can receive calls from anywhere in the world. The SIM works in any unlocked GSM phone and users activate the SIM online or from the handset and then add minutes as needed.”

The cards cost $35.00 with a $10.00 bonus at top-up. “It’s pre-paid so people only pay for what they need. They have the option of paying 50 cents per month so their US number never expires.

Price comparison on roaming from the states to Cayman in US$:
AT&T International Roaming Rates for Cayman: $1.69 – $2.29
T-Mobile: $1.99
Global SIM: 0.19-.49 cents/min (based on calling/receiving from the USA)

Roaming in the USA:
Lime: calling within the USA: 0.68/min
Digicel: 0.79/min
Global SIM: 0.09/min

Calling back to Cayman from USA:
Lime: 1.09/min
Digicel: $1.25/min
Global SIM: $0.09 to land lines and 0.59 for mobile

For more information email info@globalsim.ky

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  1. Anonymous says:

    Great idea! Thank you Ms. Sandra.

  2. Anonymous says:

    You know when you decide to be a hater you should at least have the facts correct first. Since you so blinded by your hatred of Ms. Catron allow me to assist you in sorting out the facts and why anyone … even someone as blinded as you should chose her card of SkyMall:

    1. Because SkyMall charges $58 USD for the card which is more than what Sandra is charging.

    2. With SkyMall you only get $5.00 top-up bonus instead of $10.00 with Sandra’s card.

    3. With SkyMall there is no 24/7 customer support. With Sandra’s there is and I have tested it. I can also top up from my handset or online.

    4. The rates for the SkyMall card is much higher than the one that Sandra is selling. See rates below.

    5. Skymall has an annual renewal fee of $35.00. Sandra’s card has no annual renewal fee.

    6. I just tried calling SkyMall to find out the rates to call different places and that information they could not provide justthat it’s “from .15 cents per minute. Sandra’s is “from .09 cents per minute” but you can also view the specific countries on the website that you are calling and see what you will pay.

    7. Also, when you call 24/7 support they can tell you precisely what the rates are by location.

    8. Sandra is a Caymanian and as a fellow Caymanian I am going to support her to keep the business here in the Cayman Islands. She in turn will spend the money here supporting others and this assists our local economy. If I have a question before purchase I can contact Sandra and have her break it down to me or go on her friendly FB page and reach here there as well as via email.

    9. With Skymall I have to wait 14+ days to receive the card and pay additional shipping cost on top of the $58. So who knows what the total will actually be. With Sandra’s card I can get it delivered to my door for the $35.00.

    10. Let’s compare this Card rate to call from Cayman to the US using it vs. Sandra’s option:

    Skymall:
    0.77 per minute
    0.43 per minute inbound
    0.62 per text message

    Sandra’s Option:
    .49 per minute
    .19 per minute inbound
    .10 per text message and free incoming text on the global number

    Note: these are all in USD.

    I really hate to see people begrudging others but if you do so make sure that you have the facts beforehand. It’s sad that you would tell people about a card that in every way is not as good an option as Sandra’s. That’s how I know your comment was done in a mean spirit. We shall pray for you. In the meantime anyone who wants one of these cards can check the Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/CaymanGlobalSIM or the website for tons of useful information.

  3. Just Commentin' says:

    Well done Ms. Catron! In this time of economic straits, this news is especially welcome! I wish you all the best success. A little bit more competition for the telcos is always welcome news as it benefits everyone.

    I recall the exorbitant cost of international calls in the time prior to Cable and Wireless (now LIME) having their monopoly broken. Back then, daytime long distance rates to the USA were around $2.00 per minute. Now  LIME’s prime time rate to the USA is only 35 cents per minute! And Ms. Catron’s service is cheaper still. Amazing to recall what C&W-LIME got away with for so long just because they could.

    Oh, but would it be that someone could do something about the legal robbery that LIME is foisting upon its customers relative to what it charges for DSL Internet service! The commercial plans are particularly vile extortions.

    Case in point: The LIME site for the Cayman Islands advertises the 6MB/second LIME internet service for a business at CI$209 per month. The 8MB/second service (33% faster) currently advertised only in the residential plans is just $120 per month. Sure businesses get 5 more email addresses. Big deal! Even the more modest residential plans offer more email addresses than my business needs. LIME’s poor regard of business customers is evident in the fact that their fastest DSL service is advertised only for residential customers. In Jamaica the 8MB business service is offered at only CI$50.24 per month! In St Kitts they pay less than half of what we do, it is only CI$106 per month. Curious that LIME seems to offer the "8MB" service to Jamaican and St. Kitts’ business customers but not here.

    To further rub salt into the wounds of all the Cayman businesses that LIME is bleeding for all they are worth, note that on the LIME business internet plan and rates page they misrepresent the connection download speeds. Check it out. See? (Hint: There is a HUGE difference between MB/second and Mb/second!) To several of my computer geek friends this is a big joke on LIME. Maybe LIME is not technically savvy enough to know the difference between MB and Mb? (Megabytes versus Megabits.) But then again I do not think that LIME even cares that no business connection even begins to approach anywhere near a 6MB download speed much less 8MB. Hell, my pricey $209/mo business connection might make about 2.5Mb/sec on a good day.

    Anyway, Ms. Catron, congratulations! And if you can ever offer a solution to LIME’s internet larceny, you will have my vote in the next election!

  4. Anonymous says:

    Didn’t I just see this in SkyMall? Why do I need to pay Sandra to bring it in?