In recent years, more of the folks who are interested in moving to Belize are still working, and many of them who eventually make the move are working online for a North American company. Thus, one frequently asked question on many of the online Belize forums and groups is: How is the internet service in Belize?
I lived in San Pedro for my first four years in Belize, and I had a triplex there with two rental apartments downstairs. After things opened up after Covid, I decided to market the apartment to Digital Nomads, folks who were interested in 30-90 day stays on the island.
Of course, one of the first questions most of my potential clients asked was: How is the internet service in Belize? And based on my experience in San Pedro, with a direct connection to the Fiber network, I could honestly tell them that my internet service in Belize was as good, if not better, than the service I had in Hawaii before I moved.
However, now that I have moved to a more rural area, north of Corozal town on the Belize mainland, I have discovered the availability of high-speed, quality internet service in Belize can vary greatly by location. In this article, I take a look at the network providers and internet service in Belize.
Who are the two large internet service providers in Belize?
There are two large internet service providers in the country: Belize Telemedia Limited (BTL), also know as Digi, and Speednet Communications Ltd, which trades under the name SMART.
Digi and Smart are not only the two largest internet service providers in Belize, but they also provide the majority of the cell phone service in the country as well.
There is often discussion among Belizeans about how the two large players in the internet service realm in Belize are divided by political party, Red and Blue, (yes, that is unfortunately a thing here, too), but we’ll try to stay out of that sinkhole as we look at options for internet service in Belize.
BTL’s Digi service
As it declares with its logo, the largest internet service provider in Belize, Digi, is primarily owned by the government of Belize. According to the Amandala Newspaper:
There are about 1,500 shareholders in BTL, and the Government of Belize holds 49.3% of issued ordinary shares. The Belize Social Security Board holds 34.3% of issued ordinary shares, and the Central Bank of Belize has an 8% shareholding, while small shareholders control some 9%.
Amandala Newspaper
As I described in the introduction above, while living in San Pedro, I had Digi high-speed fiber service, and the service was fast, reliable, and it was quite reasonably priced. I was running three apartments with one modem and a WIFI extender, and my guests all told me that they had more than sufficient bandwidth for Zoom Meetings, and other work-related activities.
I even had one video game designer living in one of the apartments for some three months, and the service provided him the bandwidth he needed to stream very dense files.
Digi Plans
Where fiber service is available, Digi Currently offers three plans:
- DigiBasic: 40Mbps for $79 BZD ($39.50 USD) per month, Inclusive of Modem Rental & GST
- DigiDouble: 80Mbps for $119 BZD ($59.50 USD) per month, Inclusive of Modem Rental & GST. This plan also includes a Free Mobile Plan, which includes 6GB PrePaid Data, 100 Digi Cell Phone Minutes and 100 Texts.
- DigiTriple: 150Mbps for $199 ($99.50 USD) per month, Inclusive of Modem Rental & GST. This plan also includes a Free Mobile Plan, which includes 10GB PrePaid Data, and 300 Minutes Cell Service and Texts.
When I had my rental property, I had the DigiDouble plan, and this was enough to serve the entire triplex, with up to about six people on devices all at the same time. Thus, the service was both reliable and reasonably priced, and I personally recommend Digi’s Fiber-to-Home service anywhere that is it available, which is generally in most reasonably-sized towns in Belize, at least in the central town areas.
I now live about three miles north of Corozal town, and there is no direct fiber service available.
Smart! broadband service
Smart is the second-largest supplier of internet and cell service in Belize. However, one big difference between Smart and Digi is that in many towns, Digi has Fiber-cable service directly wired to your house while Smart relies on service that is relayed from their cell towers to your home.
On their website, Smart describes their broadband connection:
To provide your home with Broadband Unlimited Internet, we attach an antennae to the roof of your house and point it in the direction of one of our Smart towers. We run a LAN line from the antennae to our modem that is placed somewhere inside your home. The antennae pulls the internet signal from the tower, feeds it to the modem, and you connect to the internet using WiFi provided by the modem.
All the equipment is provided free of charge. We’ll uninstall and retrieve the equipment when your service is terminated.
Smart Website FAQs Section
I have spoken with a number of Smart users who are happy with the service, and they indicate that it is reliable. And on its website, Smart also claims that the service is not affected by weather unless there is physical damage to equipment.
Smart Plans
- Smart Broadband 24: 24 Mbps for $61.88 BZD ($30.94 USD) per month.
- Smart Broadband 44: 44 Mbps for $90 BZD ($45 USD) per month.
As you can see, Smart’s wireless broadband network does not provide the same download speeds as Digi’s Fiber-to-Home network; however, if you are not in an area served by Digi Fiber, Smart, as the second largest internet and cell provider in Belize, may be your best option.
Smart, like Digi, also offers a Bundle Plan, which include wireless broadband and phone service.
Are there other companies providing internet service in Belize?
Reportedly, there are 27 companies licensed to provide internet service in Belize. After the big two telecommunications companies, Digi and Smart, many of these companies tend to be much smaller and operate on a regional basis, and serve smaller populations in harder-to-reach areas.
Some of these companies are fairly large and started out as cable TV providers who have moved into the internet space. The top cable TV company, Nexgen, has moved into the Fiber-to-Home broadband business, and it is a good option in the areas in which they operate.
NEXGEN Cable TV and Internet service provider
According to the Nexgen website:
Founded in 2001 as Cayo Cable Vision, Central TV & Internet embarked on its journey by serving the vibrant communities of San Ignacio Town, Santa Elena, and Esperanza Village, offering a modest range of channels from 2 to 65. Driven by a vision of growth and innovation, we expanded our services to Central Farm and Georgeville the following year.
A transformative milestone arrived in 2007 when we undertook a major network upgrade. By incorporating state-of-the-art fiber optics into our existing copper network and modernizing our hardware, we were able to offer an impressive 125 channels, including Digital and HD options, and lay the groundwork for High-Speed Internet services.
Since its first growth spurt, Nexgen has spread to Belize City, Belmopan, and many other parts of the country, and their technology has matured as well. They are now able to provide fiber-to-home network speeds of up to 200 Mbps.
Nexgen plans
- Express: 25 Mbps for $49.00 BZD, ($24.50 USD) per month.
- Lightning: 50 Mbps for $77.00 BZD, ($38.50 USD) per month.
- Blazing: 100 Mbps for $110.25 BZD, ($55.13 USD) per month.
- Ultra: 200 Mbps for $180.25 BZD, ($90.13 USD) per month.
As you can see, Nexgen currently offers the widest variety of plans and the highest speed available at the top end.
Can I use Starlink in Belize?
Starlink is currently not licensed to operate in Belize. For this reason, while there are folks in Belize who are using the system, and others who have used Starlink in Belize in the past, there are also reports that Customs Officers in Belize have confiscated the hardware if discovered when it is imported into the country.
There is a Facebook Group dedicated to Starlink in Belize, and in July 2024, some members there reported that while they had been successfully using the system in Belize, many had received Termination Notices from Starlink, and some members of the group have also reported that their systems were shut down by the company.
I have heard talk in Belize that the government here has not worked out a deal with Starlink because the political parties are closely tied to both Digi and Smart, so they do not want the competition, but this makes little sense, as most Belizeans would never choose to purchase the equipment, and then pay at least $300 BZD ($150 USD) per month for service if they have access to any of the larger internet service companies in Belize.
Starlink would be a great asset to those who live in more rural areas, outside of the operating range of the major players in Belize, and it would also provide more communication redundancy in case of major hurricanes or other natural disasters.
The electricity grid is fairly fragile in Belize, so a good number of Starlink systems would be really helpful in emergency situations, as they can be powered with small generators or battery backup systems.
Final thoughts on internet service in Belize
While living in San Pedro with access to Digi’s fiber-to-home internet service, I would tell everyone that internet access in Belize is reliable enough for those who want to move to Belize and work remotely.
However, now that I live three miles north of Corozal Town, in a more rural area, I understand that there are many areas in Belize which have less than ideal internet service.
I do not have access to any of the three large providers above, Digi, Smart, or NexGen, as the only service available in my area is provided by a small, point-to-point, antenna-based internet service provider.
I have spoken to others in more rural parts of the Corozal district and have also read reports from those who live in more rural areas in other parts of Belize, and they agree with my assessment that it would not really be possible to work a full-time remote job with the somewhat unreliable service I have at my home.
When my service is functioning, it is more than sufficient for streaming and sending documents, but there are so many unscheduled intermittent outages that it would be nearly impossible to work a 40-hour week for a North American company which might require scheduled Zoom meetings, and other time sensitive work tasks.
I am a freelance writer, and because of the intermittent service outages I regularly experience, I can no longer take any work which has a tight deadline, and this certainly limits the type of work which I can do and has an effect on my potential income.
Thus, my perception of internet service in Belize has changed, and I would certainly recommend that anyone considering a move to Belize make inquiries about the type of service available in the specific area to which they are thinking of moving. It would be best, if possible, to find someone in the neighborhood who is working remotely to make sure that the network is stable.
To sum things up, there is high-speed reliable internet service in Belize, but one’s location will determine whether or not you will have access to it, so it is really important to do your due diligence on the service available if you plan to move to Belize and work remotely.
If you are considering a move to Belize, you might want to check out our articles on Permanent Residency in Belize, and Living on an Island or on the Mainland of Belize. And for a complete list of all of our information about making the move and living in Belize, check out our Belize FAQs Blog Page.