Cell phones are commonly used in Chile and there is network coverage in most of the country.
 
Traveling with your own cell phone
Chile has international roaming coverage and you should be able to make international calls from your cell phone in most areas. Coverage is good in large cities but can be limited in rural areas. Your service provider will be able to advise you on call rates. Petty theft of cell phones is not uncommon, so take care in big cities, especially at night.
 
Prepaid cell phones
Prepaid cell phones are quite cheap and it’s worth investing in one if you plan to be in Chile for some time. You can buy a prepaid cell phone in department stores such as Paris or Falabella and in most malls.
 
There are three service providers: Movistar, Entel PCS and Claro, all of which are reliable. You can’t make international calls with a prepaid cell phone for the first three months but you can receive them. Check that the phone is GSM enabled before buying.
 
You can load credit onto your prepaid cell phone at most pharmacies and in many metro stations. The cost of calls and SMS varies between service providers and calls across local networks are more expensive than network to network.