Considered one of the hidden gems of Africa, Zambia has hundreds of eye-catching places for any traveler. From fantastic waterways, wildlife, and tropical to the famous African safaris. If you don’t want to miss out on anything this country offers, we recommend that you secure your international internet connection with the new eSIM with data for Zambia. This is the only option that will allow you to connect to the internet at fairly reasonable prices with additional perks and advantages. You won’t find these benefits in your domestic operator’s roaming service or with any other products. So, if you’re interested in learning more about this product, continue reading to find everything you need to know to buy, activate and connect to the internet in Zambia.
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Requirements to install the eSIM card for Zambia
Before showing, you how to buy your eSIM to connect to the internet in Zambia, there are some things you need to consider. As it’s a fairly new product, there are a series of requirements you have to meet to activate and use this product correctly. Although these requirements can be quite easy to meet, it never hurts to take them into account before making a purchase.
- Your smartphone must support eSIM technology.
- The eSIM you buy must be compatible with your smartphone. In most cases, providers tend to be compatible with models like the iPhone XS and up.
- Your email service must be active.
- Once you have your eSIM and carry out the activation process, remember that you must have the internet to activate the eSIM correctly.
- In addition to having internet during the activation process, remember that the eSIM can only be activated when you arrive at your destination.
(You may be interested in Best eSIM for the USA)
Cellular providers of eSIM cards to travel to Zambia
If even after knowing and meeting the above requirements, you’re still wondering how you can buy an eSIM for Zambia, then hang on because we’re going to dive in. The answer to this is easy, and it’s through eSIM carriers. These can be international providers that offer International eSIM for short periods, such as for vacations or business trips that don’t last more than a month.
On the other hand, there are also local providers, who offer eSIM for a much longer period. In most cases, they also require a much more extensive and tedious purchase process. These types of providers are usually operators that offer you eSIM if you buy a prepaid or postpaid plan with them.
If you want to buy an eSIM for Zambia, the only option available is through international providers. These are:
- Holafly
- FlexiRoam
Holafly stands out among them, as it’s the one with the most reasonable data rate to connect to the internet during a vacation in Zambia.
Prices and data plans of eSIM providers to travel to Zambia
After learning about the providers that can offer you an eSIM during your trip to Zambia, you’ll most likely want to know how much it costs to connect to the internet with this product. For this reason, and for you to save some time and money, we have compiled the rates and data plans of each of the above providers. This way you have a list of prices and data plans that you can easily compare and draw your conclusions based on your needs.
Holafly plans and prices in Zambia
- 15 days with 6 GB at $44 USD
FlexiRoam plans and prices in Zambia
- 3 GB for 15 days at $50
Comparison of eSIM providers for Zambia
| Provider | Data | Days | Price (USD) | Language | Sales channels |
| Holafly | 6 GB | 15 | $44 | Spanish, English, French, and German | Web |
| FlexiRoam | 3 GB | 15 | $50 | English | Play Store, App Store |
Features of the eSIM to travel to Zambia
If you have already decided to connect to the internet through one of the eSIMs in Zambia, you must have a much more complete picture of what eSIMs can offer you. In addition to providing you with internet like any SIM card or a Pocket WiFi, these products also have hidden advantages and features. We will show you below:
- In the case of international eSIMs, most of these only offer data. So, if you need to make or receive calls, you can do so through apps such as WhatsApp or Skype.
- So, if your smartphone is Apple or some other high-end brand, you can use your eSIM at the same time as your traditional SIM card. That is, it will automatically convert your smartphone into a DualSIM phone.
- The eSIM plans can be cumulative. That is, you can have several eSIMs on your cellphone, but you can only use one at the same time.
- You can only install them once after purchase, so avoid uninstalling your eSIM at all costs.
- With some providers, you can enjoy additional benefits. For example, the Holafly eSIM for Zambia offers you to share the internet with your friends.
- Being a virtual product, delivery fees and waiting times don’t exist.
- You will need a second screen to project the QR code and then scan the eSIM with your cellphone.
(You may be interested in Best eSIM for Europe)
Mobile coverage of the eSIM to travel to Zambia
There’s another important aspect that you must consider when buying your eSIM to travel to Zambia. Besides the data rate that your provider offers you, you need to bear in mind the coverage that you’ll have once you land in Zambia. This is so important because it doesn’t matter how much data you have, nor how many days the data plan is valid for. If you don’t have good coverage, you won’t be able to enjoy either of them comfortable during your vacation. Mainly due to the problems caused by poor coverage, such as having latency when using social networks or even running out of internet in some areas of Zambia.
If you don’t want this to happen to you, we recommend that, before buying your eSIM, you take a look at the cellular network you’re going to connect to once you arrive in Zambia. If this cellular network belongs to the best operators in Zambia, such as Airtel, then your coverage will be quite good. Such as the case of Holafly eSIM for Zambia, which uses the Airtel network, one of the best cellular operators in the country.
Airtel 4G coverage map in Zambia
Local cellular operators offering eSIM in Zambia
As we mentioned before, there’s another alternative to international providers, which is local providers. These providers are usually local cellular operators that offer an eSIM if you buy a prepaid or postpaid plan with them. However, there’s currently no cellular operator in Zambia that offers eSIMs. Therefore, the only current option to get an eSIM in Zambia is through international providers like Holafly or FlexiRoam.
FAQ about eSIM for Zambia
If you have any doubts, then we will answer the most frequently asked questions that travelers usually have about the eSIM for Zambia.
The only thing you need, in addition to having a cellphone compatible with eSIMs, is a temporary residence address. You can get this through a previously booked hotel.
The most important aspects when choosing the best eSIM card are the data and their validity, in addition to the coverage as we saw earlier. Well, depending on these two variables you’ll be able to choose between one or the other. It’s pointless to have a lot of data if you’ll only stay 4 days, or too little data for 2 weeks.
Some of the alternatives to having internet in Zambia can be the classic roaming rates or Pocket WiFi. Although these two usually have much higher prices than those offered by the eSIM for Zambia.
Apart from Airtel, there are other cellular operators in Zambia. However, these tend to have quite limited coverage. Among these operators, we can find Zamtel and MTN.
To buy a local eSIM, the first thing you should do is go to the physical branches of these operators. Once there, you will request a cellular plan with eSIM included and that’s it. However, remember that operators usually ask for official documents such as a passport, to buy a data plan and that these plans are usually for several months.
