Buy a Macao eSIM Online

Mobile internet, 4G and 5G in Macao

Macao's telecoms regulator, CTT (the Macau Post and Telecommunications Bureau), publishes its own statistics on the local market: as of its most recent update, three operators hold a licence for 'Public Land Mobile Telecommunications Network and Services (LTE),' and two of those three also hold a licence for the '(5G)' category. CTM (Companhia de Telecomunicações de Macau) is the incumbent, confirmed through its own current site, and it also sells its own tourist prepaid SIM product (below).

Macao is a Chinese Special Administrative Region with its own telecoms regulator and its own set of licensed operators — what applies on our mainland China page does not automatically carry over here. The market has also been moving: SmarTone ceased mobile operations in Macao, with CTM taking over its position, reported with a headline date of 22 August 2024, though the mechanics of that transition were not independently confirmed beyond the headline. CTT's own statistics additionally report subscriber counts — 960,162 5G postpaid subscribers and 273,088 5G prepaid users, as of September 2026 — but those are subscriber counts, not a coverage percentage, and we are not converting them into one.

Roaming in Macao without an eSIM

Macao is outside the EU's 'Roam Like at Home' area, which covers only the EU member states plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, and separately Moldova and Ukraine. Your Belgian or Dutch bundle does not travel with you: your home operator bills Macao data at its own out-of-bundle roaming tariff, without the European price caps that apply inside that zone. The European Commission's own advice is to check that tariff with your provider before you fly.

Buying a SIM in Macao: real-name registration is the law, not just a store policy

Macao's Legislative Assembly passed a cybersecurity bill in 2019 that, per reporting at the time, requires network operators to register prepaid SIM buyers' personal information, with fines on operators that fail to do so. CTM's own current tourist-SIM page puts that law into practice in plain terms: 'Customers must present their original ID Card or valid Passport for registration upon purchasing the CTM Prepaid Card.' A passport is explicitly accepted, so this is not a barrier for a visiting traveller — just something to bring to the counter. CTM's own tourist prepaid card bundles data usable in Macao alongside mainland China and Hong Kong, valid for 5 days, on top of that same ID/passport requirement; it is CTM's own product, not anything we are reselling or partnering on.