Before you start

Passport for prepaid; cédula de identidad for postpaid and fixed services
A Quito address for fibre installation
An unlocked or eSIM-capable handset
An Ecuadorian payment method for postpaid

Step-by-step

1
Buy a prepaid SIM in the first days
Claro and Movistar sell prepaid at the airport and in shopping centres, registered against your passport. Data packages are inexpensive and cover the period before your cédula exists.
In personWho: YouDay 1
2
Buy from an operator store rather than informally
SIM registration is mandatory in Ecuador. Lines bought informally may be registered to someone else, which means you cannot port the number or recover it, and you inherit whatever it was previously used for.
In personWho: You
3
Switch to postpaid once you hold a cédula
Postpaid plans need an Ecuadorian identity document and a local payment method. They are cheaper per gigabyte and usually bundle regional roaming, which matters if you travel to Colombia or Peru.
In personWho: You
4
Check what fixed service reaches your specific building
CNT, Claro, Netlife and others have overlapping but not identical fibre footprints. Quito's topography means the answer varies street by street on the hillsides. Ask the building administrator which providers are already installed.
OnlineWho: You
5
Plan around power cuts if you work remotely
Ecuador has experienced periods of scheduled electricity rationing during droughts affecting hydro generation. A UPS for the router and a mobile data plan on a different operator is the standard local defence, and residents who work remotely treat it as normal contingency rather than a crisis.
Mobile appWho: You
6
Port your number rather than starting over
Ecuador operates number portability. Do not cancel the old line before the port completes — your number is tied to bank authentication and delivery apps.
OnlineWho: You

Documents you’ll need

Passport for prepaid
Cédula de identidad for postpaid and fixed services
Proof of Quito address
Ecuadorian bank details or card

Things most newcomers don’t know

Quito's geography, not its wealth, decides your connection.

The city runs forty kilometres along a narrow plateau with steep hillside neighbourhoods on either side. Fibre and mobile coverage follow the flat ground and the main corridors; the hillside streets in Guápulo, Bellavista and the western slopes have real gaps. An expensive address with a view is frequently a worse connection than a modest flat in La Carolina. Ask about the specific building, not the district.

Source: community-reported

Electricity rationing has been a real feature of recent years, and it shapes how people work.

Ecuador's grid depends heavily on hydro, and droughts have produced periods of scheduled load shedding with cuts of several hours a day. Residents who work remotely keep a UPS on the router, charge devices opportunistically and hold important calls in the morning. It is not constant and it is not universal, but building the contingency in advance is what separates a nuisance from a lost workday.

Source: community-reported

SIM registration is mandatory, and an informally bought line is somebody else's line.

Every line in Ecuador is registered against an identity document. Lines sold outside operator channels are frequently registered to a third party, which leaves you unable to port the number, unable to recover it if the handset is lost, and attached to its previous history. Buying at an operator store takes ten extra minutes and removes the problem entirely.

Source: ARCOTEL

Dollar pricing makes telecoms costs genuinely comparable year to year.

In most of Latin America a plan quoted at a local-currency price is a moving target. In Ecuador the price is in dollars and stays put, which makes it possible to compare operators honestly and to budget more than a few months ahead. It is a small thing that compounds across every recurring cost you have here.

Source: community-reported