Almaty eSIM
In Almaty you connect to Kcell or Beeline, whichever is performing better where you are standing. The typical speed across the country is 51 Mbps. Your data starts working the moment you land, before you reach the immigration hall.
- Networks
- Kcell and Beeline
- Typical speed in Kazakhstan
- 51 Mbps typical, 12 Mbps at busy times
- 5G
- yes, non standalone
- Throttle
- None on metered plans
- Tethering
- Allowed on every plan
Plans that cover Almaty
| Data | Validity | Price per GB | Price | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 GB | Never expires | $5.89 | $5.89 | |
| 3 GB | Never expires | $3.30 | $9.89 | |
| 5 GBMost travellers | Never expires | $2.58 | $12.89 | |
| 10 GB | Never expires | $1.99 | $19.89 | |
| 20 GB | Never expires | $1.64 | $32.89 |
How Kazakhstan compares across Asia
- Regional typical speed
- 42.95 Mbps
- Upstream networks
- 2, Kcell, Beeline
- 5G
- Yes, non standalone
- Next fastest nearby
- Thailand, 52 Mbps
- Next slowest nearby
- Maldives, 47 Mbps
- Cities with their own page
- 2: Almaty, Astana
Landing at Almaty International Airport (ALA)
- Airport
- ALA / UAAA
- Distance
- 15 km from the centre of Almaty
Getting into Almaty
- City bus routes 3 and 92, serving both terminals (ALA)
- Taxi and ride-hailing (ALA)
Underground and on the metro
Almaty Metro runs 1 lines. It opened in 2011. The operator does not publish whether the tunnels carry a mobile signal, so we do not claim either way.
Worth knowing about Almaty
- The Almaty Metro is a single 13.4 km line with 11 stations, opened on 1 December 2011 the only metro in Kazakhstan and Central Asia's newest.
- Kazakhstan abolished its second time zone on 1 March 2024: Almaty moved from UTC+6 to UTC+5, so the whole country now runs on one offset and older guidebooks are an hour out.
- Kazakhstan has not observed daylight saving time since 2005, so UTC+5 applies year-round.
- Almaty airport has two separate terminals Terminal 1 domestic, Terminal 2 international both served by bus routes 3 and 92.
- Kazakhstan requires mobile devices on its networks to be IMEI registered, but Kcell states that devices roaming in Kazakhstan are exempt. The rule bites only once you insert a Kazakh SIM.
- IMEI registration is free and done by texting your IIN or BIN to 6006 or dialling *660#. Kcell warns that carriers stop serving unregistered devices.
- Kcell announced in December 2024 that its mobile service reached seven of the metro's eleven stations on 3G, 4G and 5G, with work under way at the remaining four.
- Terminal 2 opened on 1 June 2024 for international flights alone. It covers over 53,000 square metres and lifted the airport's annual capacity to 14 million passengers.
- Almaty airport handled 11,426,650 passengers in 2024, up 19.7 percent on the year before. It is owned by Groupe ADP and operated by TAV Airports Holding.
- The airport has two concrete runways, 4,400 m and 4,500 m long, and sits at 681 m above sea level.
- The metro's single line reached Moskva station in April 2015 and Bauyrzhan Momyshuly on 30 May 2022. A further extension to Qalqaman is planned for around 2027.
- Almaty sits at 700 to 900 m in the foothills of the Trans-Ili Alatau, in a seismically active zone that saw destructive earthquakes in 1887, 1889 and 1911.
- Almaty was Kazakhstan's capital from 1929 until the government moved north to Akmola in 1997, so it remains the largest city without being the seat of government.
- The Almaty Metro runs daily from 06:20 to midnight local time and carried 27 million passengers in 2024, about 80,000 on a weekday.
- Fares are paid with reusable contactless smart cards or disposable tokens, and since 2016 with the ONAI card system and contactless payment cards.
Sources for this page
Other cities in Kazakhstan we cover
- Astana
- 973 km from Almaty, nearest airport NQZ