Cell phone service in San Pancho has improved considerably over the last few years. International plans are now common, which generally include text messages, data and long distance calling. Many people now use their foreign cell phones here just as they do at home – many of us can receive calls or texts at the beach! Check with your local provider to see your options.

• it is also possible to buy a Mexican sim card to put in your foreign cell phone. These can be purchased at Telcel or other cellular company offices and they also offer inexpensive plans. The upside is that you can use your own phone, which you know how to operate – the downside is that while that sim card is installed you do not get calls to your regular number, so you have to either set up forwarding or call in and enter your password to check for messages to that regular number. 
•  another great option is to purchase one of the cheap cell phone models (around $25 USD), sold at Telcel locations, or Kiosko or Oxxo minimarts, which you can find in San Pancho or anywhere in Mexico. These cell phones are pay-as-you-go and you can make and receive international calls. But remember that you then have to learn how to use them, and they are generally unsophisticated and painful to use for texting or emailing. Before leaving San Pancho you can donate the cell phone at Entre Amigos where they will distribute them to families without phones who can use them for emergency calls.