1.28 million square kilometers, mostly empty
Chad covers around 1.28 million km² and holds about 19 million people, the bulk of them concentrated in the south around N'Djamena and Lake Chad, with smaller populations down through Moundou and Sarh. The north — Tibesti, Borkou, Ennedi — is open Saharan country, sparsely settled, with cellular coverage that mirrors the demographics. There's no equivalent of "good coast / bad interior" here; there's "the populated south, mostly fine on networks" and "the empty north, mostly not." A travel eSIM is honest about that and prices the bytes accordingly.
Roamzy charges $6.55 per gigabyte in Chad. That's $0.0064 per megabyte, billed in real time on Chadian networks. No subscription, no expiry, no minimum bundle. One per-MB rate across 192 countries — the figure on the invoice, not a marketing line.
How much will Roamzy actually cost on this trip?
Cellular use on a typical posting is moderate: maps in N'Djamena, WhatsApp with drivers and fixers, the camera-translator on French and Arabic signs, voice notes home, the rare bank-app push. Office and lodge Wi-Fi handles the rest. Plan on 0.3–0.6 GB/day on cellular:
| Trip length | Roamzy ($6.55/GB) | Tourist roaming pass | Local SIM at N'Djamena |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 days (~1.5 GB) | $9.83 | $25–60 | $5–15 + KYC and a passport scan |
| 1 week (~3.5 GB) | $22.94 | $50–110 | $8–20 + paperwork |
| 2 weeks (~7 GB) | $45.88 | $100–220 (often two passes) | $15–35 + 30-day cap |
Competitor prices in columns 3 and 4 are 2025 ranges based on typical offerings; exact figures depend on your home carrier and the airport store you visit. Roamzy's rate in column 2 is our actual published rate from the pricing page.
A local SIM at N'Djamena's Hassan Djamous airport is workable for a long deployment; for a short visit it eats hours that the eSIM saves you. Attach the eSIM at home, the counter starts when your phone catches the first tower.
Where is Roamzy reliable, and where isn't it?
- N'Djamena — 4G across the working city; signal along the Chari riverfront and on the road in from the airport
- Moundou, Sarh, Abéché, Doba — workable LTE in the regional centers, thinner on the connecting roads
- Lake Chad area — patchy; signal at the populated villages, weaker out on the lake
- Zakouma National Park — 3G at the lodge and entry; nothing in the bush itself
- The Saharan north (Faya-Largeau, Tibesti, Ennedi) — assume nothing; satellite communication country
- Border corridors with Sudan, Libya, Niger — sparse signal, long quiet stretches
Offline-cached maps (Maps.me, Organic Maps) and a satellite messenger like Garmin inReach are baseline kit on any northern run. The eSIM is for when you're back on a network.
How do I install my Roamzy eSIM?
| Plug type | Voltage | Frequency | iOS | Android |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type C, D, E, F | 220 V | 50 Hz | iPhone XS+ | Pixel 3+, Galaxy S20+ |
- Sign in to Roamzy via Telegram or Google
- Top up with a minimum of 20 USDT — stablecoins, no cards, no banks, no FX surcharges
- The QR code appears in the dashboard once payment confirms
- Settings → Cellular → Add eSIM → scan QR
- The counter starts when you land at N'Djamena (NDJ)
Supported stablecoins and common setup errors are in the FAQ. The dashboard handles top-ups in USDT.
What are Roamzy's honest limitations?
The cellular network covers the populated south of Chad. The Saharan north is sparsely covered, and that's geography rather than tariff. We sell access to the same networks Chadians use, billed by the megabyte:
- No welcome promo that flips on the second top-up. Top-up #1 and top-up #20 cost the same per megabyte.
- No fine-print throttling. One rate, full speed where there's signal.
- No auto-renewal. Balance runs out, the eSIM stops.
What if my route continues across the Sahel?
- Niger — overland west, separate country rate
- Libya — Saharan crossings north, the eSIM hands over at the border
- If you want the underlying mechanics — how roaming actually gets priced and why it hurts