Before you start

Passport plus entry stamp for a visitor line, or residence permit for a resident line
An unlocked handset
Your physical presence at an operator store
For postpaid: a residence permit and usually a bank account or salary certificate

Step-by-step

1
Buy a prepaid line at the airport or an operator store
Zain, Orange and Umniah all have stores across Amman and desks at Queen Alia International. A prepaid line activates on a passport in one visit. Buy from an official store rather than a kiosk reseller.
In personWho: You, with an operator agent15–30 minutesStarter packs are inexpensive
2
Move the line onto your residence permit details
Once resident, update the registration to your residence permit. Bank verification, government services and payment apps send codes to the number registered against your identity, and a mismatch produces failures that never mention the phone.
In personWho: YouSame month as the permitFree
3
Switch to postpaid once salary is flowing
Postpaid bundles are better value at real usage and typically include generous data. They require the residence permit and usually a bank account. Number portability between operators is available.
In personWho: YouMonth twoPlan-dependent
4
Arrange home internet against the lease
Fibre is available across much of Amman but is uneven in older stone buildings and on the steeper hills. Ask what is physically installed in your building rather than trusting a coverage map, and ask a neighbour what speed they actually get.
In personWho: YouDays to two weeksInstallation plus monthly plan
5
Save your home as a map pin and share it
Amman addresses are functionally unusable for navigation. Save your building as a pin, add the nearest circle and a landmark in the label, and keep a shareable link ready. You will send it to every delivery driver, taxi and visitor you ever have.
Mobile appWho: YouDay oneFree
6
Set up a backup connection if you work remotely
Power cuts and connection interruptions happen, and Amman's international sector runs a lot of video calls into other time zones. A mobile data plan with tethering as a fallback is a small cost against a missed call with a donor or a headquarters.
Mobile appWho: YouFirst monthModest

Documents you’ll need

Passport with entry stamp (visitor) or residence permit (resident)
Unlocked handset
Lease for fixed broadband installation
Bank details or salary certificate for postpaid

Things most newcomers don’t know

In Amman the map pin is the address, and this is not a convenience.

The city navigates by eight numbered circles, hill names and landmarks. Streets are named and buildings are numbered, but the system is not used in practice: delivery drivers phone rather than navigate, taxi drivers want a landmark, and a written address will frequently get you nowhere. Save your home as a pin with the nearest circle and a visible landmark in the label, and keep the share link somewhere you can send it in two taps. It is the single most useful setup step for daily life here.

Source: Local navigation practice

Mobile data is cheap here, which changes how you use it.

Jordanian mobile data is inexpensive by both Gulf and European standards, and coverage across Amman is solid. That makes tethering a genuinely viable backup for home working, and makes a generous mobile bundle a better first purchase than rushing a fibre installation into a building you may leave. For a first few months in a city where you may move flat once, this is the pragmatic order.

Source: TRC; operator pricing

Fibre in Amman is a building question, and the old stone buildings are the weak spot.

Much of the housing stock people actually want — the 1930s to 1960s stone buildings in Jabal Amman and Jabal al-Weibdeh — predates any structured cabling and sits on steep hills. Fibre may reach the street and not the flat. If you work remotely and are choosing between a characterful old building and a dull new one, establish what is physically terminated in the property before you fall in love with the balcony.

Source: Local network practice

Keep the line in your own name, not your employer's or a fixer's.

It is common for employers or relocation agents in the region to arrange a line on the company's account as a convenience. In Jordan that means verification codes for your bank and government services go to a number registered to someone else, and it means losing the number if you change jobs — along with everything that authenticates against it. Take the small inconvenience of registering it yourself.

Source: TRC registration requirements

Common mistakes to avoid

Relying on a written street address for deliveries or a taxi instead of a map pin.
Letting an employer or agent register your line on their identity.
Committing to fibre in an old stone building without checking what is terminated at the flat.
Assuming a coverage map answers the question for your specific building.
Working remotely without a mobile data fallback for call-heavy days.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.