A local line needs biometric registration
Mauritania's Autorité de Régulation says its 2023 decision restricted SIM and USIM sales to operators' own commercial agencies and required biometric identification. The regulator named Mattel, Mauritel and Chinguitel when announcing action on lines without completed identification. This is a stronger condition than simply handing cash to an informal kiosk. Go to an official agency with the identity document used to enter Mauritania and ask what its current process accepts for a non-resident before paying for a line.
The regulator's agency and biometric requirements apply across the licensed mobile operators. Its report does not give a single document list for every category of foreign visitor, so confirm the accepted document with the operator's own commercial agency. If registration cannot be completed promptly, have a separately checked roaming connection and offline hotel information for the period before the local line works. A purchased data bundle does not establish that an unidentified line has been activated.
Local eSIM still involves an agency
Moov Mauritel's official FAQ describes activating a combined data-and-voice subscription on eSIM by taking an identity document to an agency, activating the eSIM and collecting its 'code barre' (barcode), and paying 50 MRU. That is an operator-stated eSIM service charge at the time of checking, not a data allowance or the total tariff price. Ask the agency whether the exact subscription is available to a visiting foreigner and whether the chosen handset is eligible. An eSIM profile download normally needs an internet connection, so keep a working connection during setup.
Combine a Mauritel agency visit with the required identity process, and have staff test data, ordinary calls and SMS before leaving. If a dual-SIM phone keeps a home number for messages, label the lines and deliberately select the Mauritanian profile for data. Avoid deleting a functioning home profile while trying a local QR code. The regulator's reports identify other operators, but the official material reviewed here did not establish a reliably accessible visitor eSIM process for them.
Mattel's published prepaid data shapes
The regulator hosts Mattel's June 2025 tariff catalogue, which lists short and month-long prepaid internet bundles. It gave examples of 1 GB for three days at 50 MRU, 2 GB for seven days at 70 MRU, and 10 GB for 30 days at 300 MRU, activated through the *160# menu. These are historical catalogue figures, so ask Mattel for the live price at the time of purchase. The table also contains separate evening and social-network passes: a cheap pass restricted by time or app is not interchangeable with general-purpose data for maps, email and bookings.
The same catalogue distinguishes ordinary data, voice-and-data mixes, evening use and social-network-specific options. Choose the category that covers the work to be done away from Wi-Fi. A week moving between Nouakchott, Atar and Nouadhibou calls for a different expiry window from a single day in the capital; unused megabytes do not help once a short validity ends. The regulator's copy does not tell a foreign visitor which shop has stock or whether a Mattel eSIM is available, so confirm those points with an official agency.
Match Mauritel's offer type to the journey
Moov Mauritel's site describes Grati-Net data activated from a recharge card by dialling *123*recharge code*2#, with a displayed starting price of 10 MRU, and Grati-Social Media from 20 MRU. The regulator also hosts Mauritel's June 2025 tariff schedule. Confirm the live volume, validity and activation code before buying a recharge card; a starting price on the homepage is not a complete description of what a traveller receives. Mauritel's FAQ lists an agency or its 115 support line for subscription help and gives a balance-check code, useful if a bundle appears not to have been applied.
Mauritel's Grati listing separates internet recharges from Grati Mix, which adds national voice minutes, and from social-media and roaming options. The displayed starting price alone does not show how much general data or how many days a particular voucher buys. Confirm the exact code and expiry at the agency, then check the balance on the activated line. If the trip extends beyond Nouakchott, ask about a shop on the onward route before the first allowance runs out.
Regulator tests show why route checks matter
The Autorité de Régulation's 2025 quality-of-service exercise tested voice and mobile data across towns and road axes rather than making a blanket coverage promise. Its summary identified shortcomings against operator commitments on several links, including the Nouakchott-Nouadhibou route for all three named operators. It also flagged voice performance in Atar and Zouerate for Mattel, Néma for Mauritel, and Nouakchott, Zouerate and Kaédi for Chinguitel. These are regulator findings from a particular test period, not a prediction for every handset or moment.
The same report lists places where 4G data tests fell short of commitments for each operator. Mauritel's list included Nouakchott and Néma, Mattel's included Nouadhibou and Rosso, and Chinguitel's included Atar and Nouakchott. This supports comparing the named network on an actual itinerary instead of assuming that any city with 4G service will deliver the same quality. Save routes and accommodation details offline before a drive to Adrar or a long coastal journey, and avoid treating a successful signal test in the capital as a guarantee farther out.
Prepare roaming and documents before the border
A visitor who plans to use a home SIM should check Mauritania as a named destination in the home operator's roaming terms, including data, SMS and calls. A local Mauritanian subscription has its own registration requirement; buying an eSIM profile does not remove it. If the journey later continues to Senegal or Mali, a Mauritanian data bundle should not be assumed to work there. Mattel's 2025 catalogue lists specific roaming and international-call products, which shows that international use is a separate plan feature. Ask for current cross-border conditions before enabling roaming.
For British-passport travellers, the FCDO's current entry page says an e-visa must be arranged online before travel. Keep the approval and passport details accessible without mobile data at the border. The FCDO also advises against travel to parts of Mauritania, with particular restrictions near the Mali and Western Sahara borders and in eastern areas. Follow current route advice independently of any mobile coverage map; a network signal does not indicate that a route is permitted or safe.
Keep an emergency contact route off the phone's data plan
The FCDO lists 101 for an ambulance, 118 for fire and 117 for police in Mauritania, but explicitly warns that the authorities may not answer these numbers. Its health advice says medical facilities and communications are especially limited beyond Nouakchott and Nouadhibou. Store the current accommodation address, travelling companions' contacts and the insurer's assistance number offline, and agree what to do if a call does not connect during an overland trip.
Keep a verified voice-capable line or another way to reach a telephone. Before leaving an operator agency, test the local line with Wi-Fi disabled and check the balance and expiry. These small checks matter more when the next stop is far from a shop.
Networks our Mauritania plans use
These are the operators named on our plans for Mauritania, taken from the plan data, so the list follows the catalogue.
- Mattel4G
- Mauritel4G