So many many people in Guatemala have cell phones. And it begs the question – how can people so “poor” afford something like a cell phone? And if there’s no electricity, how do they charge them?

I think this is a really good question – one that I had when I arrived here. It’s a great example of viewing an issue abroad with the same lense we use to view that issue in the US. This is really easy to do because we rarely have any other reference point with which to make sense of things like this. To the contrary, cell phones in developing countries, vs. cells in developed countries could not be more different. I’m not an expert on this, but I can share the info that I have gleaned….and please take it all with a grain of salt because I really feel inadequate in explaining complex issues like this….but….. 

You can get a new cell phone for Q100-150 in Guatemala (between $13-20). Used ones are probably half that and of course there is a black market for phones too (I don’t know the prices, but we’re talking stolen phones that might be even cheaper). Families also share phones or phones get loaned out or passed from one person to another in some cases. And most people keep the same phone for as long as humanly possible (7-10 years!).

You pay for the minutes as you go – there are no “plans” and contracts with companies here. This is how almost every country EXCEPT the US operates with cell phones. Outgoing calls cost you minutes, but incoming calls are free. Since you have no plans, your phone number would never get shut off if you run out of minutes. 

In Guate, there are special promotion days every week where if you buy minutes, you can double or triple your money. So you could buy $1.00 worth of minutes, but on a triple day it would actually be worth $3.00. That would allow you to talk for a half an hour on outgoing calls. And since all incoming calls are free, you could technically never buy minutes, but still be able to talk when others called you. 

Calls in Guatemala are SHORT since every minute is charged. And people are also obviously extremely understanding if you don’t respond to a voice mail because you have to use minutes to call your voice mail. I’ve left many people here voice mail messages and they always say they haven’t gotten any of them, and I think they simply don’t check voicemail as a matter of policy – to save money. 

Also, since in an informal work market (jobs like selling vegetables or shining shoes) your salary fluctuates, maybe you just buy minutes if you have money at the time. Most things here are a kind of day-to-day basis. People only buy Q10 worth of minutes at a time, or they buy the food they need for just that day….but there’s not the same sense of hording things in case you run out. If you run out of minutes and don’t have the money to buy any more, you’re just out until you get some extra money to buy more – be it a day or a month or a year. 

I think realistically, if you buy an initial phone for about $7, which you have for 5 years, you could get by spending $1-$2.00 on minutes each month and be totally fine here. That’s a really different picture of cost of cell phones here than cost in the US. As for me, I bought my phone brand new for $12.50 and usually spend between $5/month on minutes. So that’s the more “expensive” end of things.

That being said, there is a definitely difference in income between the people who have cells here and those who don’t. For instance, a farmer living in a one-room house with 9 other people and doesn’t have a source of work with a stable income probably would NOT own a cell phone. While someone living in a 4 room house with 5 other people, some of whom have stable jobs in the formal work sector would be more likely to have a phone. To our eyes, they may look the same and both may be dirt poor by US standards. But they are different situations.

In terms of the electricity, it’s similar. Electricity, while outrageously expensive here (and that is why you would NEVER find a Guatemalan in the highlands using electricity for a space heater, when they could just add a couple more blankets on their bed), is actually available in many places. But you just use a little bit. If there isn’t any available, you might charge your phone at another place like a friend’s house, school, work, etc. Many people splice the electricity lines from the city and run an illegal line into their house (which is extremely dangerous, by the way), in which case, using too much isn’t the problem – but having it go off and on all the time is. Electricity and water are never garunteed all day or every day and spliced lines are unstable and break often – esp. during rainy season.  And again, the whole mentality here is different – if you haven’t checked your phone in a week because your electricity has been off, well, people will just find another way to get a hold of you and no one gets ruffled about it. 

Like people all over the world who don’t have enough money, they might not always spend it in a way that would make sense to people who do have enough money (ie, people like us). This brings to mind the case of folks in New Orleans who just lost their homes, but spent government checks on video game systems after Katrina instead of other things. I don’t really get that, but then again, as a middle-class person I don’t really understand the mentality of extreme poverty. So instead of judging how they spend their money, I try to admire the resilliance and the innovation I’ve seen all around me this country!