Seychelles
Power & telecom standards in Seychelles
Connectivity Overview
Tempest Telecom offered satellite-only service in Seychelles. Iridium satellite Internet and Voice access was available for communications in rural areas without infrastructure.
Seychelles uses 240V at 50Hz. Power outlets are type G and telephone jacks are RJ-11.
Dial-up Internet Access
Dial-up access was not available in Seychelles. Satellite Internet was the recommended alternative.
WiFi Hotspot Access
WiFi hotspot access was not available through Tempest in Seychelles.
Adapters & Power
A Type G (British 3-pin) adapter is required for travelers from North America, Europe, and most of Asia.
Standard RJ-11 jacks are used. Most international modems will connect without an adapter.
Seychelles at a Glance
- Capital
- Victoria
- Phone Code
- +248
- Voltage
- 240V / 50Hz
- Power Plug
- G
- Phone Jack
- RJ-11
- Currency
- Seychelles Rupee
- Dial-up
- N/A
- WiFi
- N/A
About connectivity in Seychelles
Seychelles uses 240V/50Hz with the British Type G outlet (a legacy of British colonial wiring standards from the pre-1976 administration). The phone jack is RJ-11. The country code is +248. Cable & Wireless Seychelles and Airtel Seychelles operate the principal fixed and mobile networks; the currency is the Seychellois Rupee.
The Seychelles' 98,000 population is concentrated on Mahé, Praslin, and La Digue within an exclusive economic zone of 1.4 million km2 — one of the largest territorial-water areas relative to land area of any country. Commercial Internet emerged through Cable & Wireless in the 1990s, with satellite backhaul carrying international traffic until the 2012 SEAS (Seychelles East Africa System) submarine cable and the 2020 PEACE cable substantially improved international bandwidth.
Tempest Telecom served Seychelles through Indian Ocean regional dial-up coverage. Iridium satellite phones served the substantial maritime industry (the Seychelles' vast EEZ makes maritime operations economically central), the luxury yachting and dive-tourism operators on the outer islands, and the historic offshore-financial-services client travel base. BGAN terminals served the broadcast media coverage of high-profile resort and political events.
Modern Seychelles has improved terrestrial broadband following the 2012 and 2020 submarine cable arrivals; mobile 4G LTE is mature on the main islands.
Tempest's services across Seychelles, 1997–2012
Tempest Telecommunications operated international connectivity services in Seychelles between 1997 and 2012 under a unified prepaid account that absorbed multiple service types onto a single customer credential. Customers in Seychelles 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 Seychelles from approximately 2001 (post-bankruptcy relaunch). Thuraya coverage did not extend to Seychelles; Inmarsat BGAN data terminals filled the broadband gap from late 2005.
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