Belize
Power & telecom standards in Belize
Connectivity Overview
Tempest Telecom offered satellite-only service in Belize. Iridium satellite Internet and Voice access was available for communications in rural areas without infrastructure.
Belize uses 110/220V at 60Hz. Power outlets are type A, B, G and telephone jacks are RJ-11.
Dial-up Internet Access
Dial-up access was not available in Belize. Satellite Internet was the recommended alternative.
WiFi Hotspot Access
WiFi hotspot access was not available through Tempest in Belize.
Adapters & Power
North American (Type A/B) plugs are compatible. An adapter may not be needed for US travelers.
Standard RJ-11 jacks are used. Most international modems will connect without an adapter.
Belize at a Glance
- Capital
- Belmopan
- Phone Code
- +501
- Voltage
- 110/220V / 60Hz
- Power Plug
- A, B, G
- Phone Jack
- RJ-11
- Currency
- BZD
- Dial-up
- N/A
- WiFi
- N/A
About connectivity in Belize
Belize uses 110/220V at 60Hz — nominally dual-voltage with Type A, Type B, and Type G outlets — reflecting the country's position as the only English-speaking nation in Central America, with mixed British colonial-era (Type G) and American (Type A/B) infrastructure. The phone jack is RJ-11. BTL (Belize Telemedia, partly state-owned) and Digi Belize operate the country's telecom infrastructure.
Belizean commercial Internet emerged in the late 1990s through BTL. Mobile data dominates current access.
The Belizean prepaid international calling-card market through the 2000s served the substantial Belizean-American diaspora — concentrated in Los Angeles, Chicago, and Brooklyn.
Tempest Telecom served Belize through dial-up POPs in Belize City. The Mayan archaeological-research customer base (Caracol, Xunantunich), the Caribbean coast maritime industry, and the rainforest expedition customer base sustained Iridium demand.
Modern Belize has expanding 4G LTE coverage with FTTH concentrated in Belize City and Belmopan.
Tempest's services across Belize, 1997–2012
Tempest Telecommunications operated international connectivity services in Belize between 1997 and 2012 under a unified prepaid account that absorbed multiple service types onto a single customer credential. Customers in Belize drew from the same balance for pre-paid international voice calling, RADIUS-authenticated dial-up Internet roaming, metered Wi-Fi hotspot access, Iridium satellite voice, and Inmarsat BGAN data terminals. An attempted kiosk-payment federation (PATN, 1998) extended the same architecture to public Internet terminals but failed to reach scale.
Iridium satellite voice was available in Belize from approximately 2001 (post-bankruptcy relaunch). Thuraya coverage did not extend to Belize; Inmarsat BGAN data terminals filled the broadband gap from late 2005.
Nearby countries in Americas
Argentina · Aruba · Bahamas · Barbados · Bermuda · Bolivia · Brazil · Canada