Before you start

A passport, or your carte d'identité d'étranger once you hold it
A physical presence at an agency — identification is done in person
An unlocked handset; check eSIM support with *#06# before relying on it
The line in YOUR name if a mobile-money wallet will sit on it

Step-by-step

1
Buy at an operator agency
Orange, Yas and Expresso all have agencies in Saint-Louis. A SIM that already works when you buy it has been registered to somebody else, which means their identity is attached to your mobile money.
In personWho: YouMinutesA few hundred XOF
2
Get identified in your own name
The agent records your passport or residence card against the line. The ARTP restricted unidentified numbers from 18 March 2025 and suspended them outright on 31 March 2025, after earlier campaigns that deactivated millions of lines. The regulator also caps how many SIMs one subscriber may hold — three is the widely reported figure.
In personWho: YouMinutesFree
3
Choose for coverage in the delta, not for a city tariff
Signal in the city is fine on all three networks. The question is the delta tracks, Djoudj, the university road and the long run south to Dakar. Ask a fisherman or a park guide which network works where you are going rather than comparing bundles from a Dakar article.
In personWho: YouSame dayNothing to compare
4
Load a data pass rather than a contract
Prepaid passes are the norm and are bought in-app or by USSD. Check the tariff in the operator's own app rather than from an article: Senegalese data pricing has moved fast under competition and published comparisons age badly. Unused data does not roll over.
Mobile appWho: YouInstantBudget XOF 5,000–10,000 a month for a working volume
5
Check fibre at the address, not at the agency
Fibre coverage exists in parts of Saint-Louis and thins fast toward the edges and across to the spit. An address being 'eligible' and being connected are different states. Test the mobile signal and ask the neighbours about fibre before you sign a lease, particularly on the island where the buildings are old and the ducting is not.
OnlineWho: YouDays to weeks for an installQuoted per package; confirm the install lead time in writing

Documents you’ll need

Passport, or the carte d'identité d'étranger
An unlocked handset
Nothing else

Things most newcomers don’t know

Senegal actually enforced its SIM identification; Côte d'Ivoire did not.

The ARTP suspended unidentified lines on 31 March 2025 after restricting them from 18 March, following earlier campaigns that cut millions of numbers. Anyone applying an Abidjan heuristic will underrate the risk of an informally acquired SIM here.

Source: ARTP; Senegalese press, March 2025

Free Sénégal is now Yas, and both names remain in circulation.

The rebrand landed in 2025 and shop signage, contracts and half the internet still say Free. Same operator. There is no fourth network.

Source: ARTP market reporting

The line and the wallet are the same asset.

Mobile money is bound to the SIM, so a line registered to a friend or a landlord means your salary and savings sit inside someone else's identity, recoverable only through them. It is the most expensive shortcut available on day one.

Source: Operator KYC rules under ARTP identification requirements

On the island, the building is the constraint, not the network.

The UNESCO-listed core is protected, old and full of buildings that were never wired for anything. Fibre availability there is a street-by-street question and sometimes a facade-permission question. Test before you sign, and keep a 4G router as a fallback.

Source: Local practice

Common mistakes to avoid

Buying a pre-activated SIM and inheriting someone else's registration
Putting a mobile-money wallet on a line registered to somebody else
Assuming the March 2025 identification deadline was a bluff — lines were cut
Choosing an operator on a Dakar tariff comparison rather than on delta coverage
Signing a lease on the island without checking what connectivity actually reaches the building
Reading a 2024 data-price comparison as current

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

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