Start with the new EU roaming position
The European Commission says Roam Like at Home was extended to Moldova on 1 January 2026. A traveller with an eligible EU mobile service can use voice, SMS and data there at domestic prices without an extra roaming surcharge. Moldovan customers visiting EU states also benefit. Older advice placing Moldova outside the EU roaming area is outdated.
Roam Like at Home still has a fair-use framework. The Commission explains that an operator may set a roaming data limit on an unlimited or very cheap domestic bundle and must tell customers about it. Read the exact allowance in the contract or the border welcome message. Calls to special-rate or value-added numbers can have different charges. A visitor from the UK or another non-EU home market should consult their own provider rather than assume the EU rule covers their contract.
For a multi-country journey, check both directions. A locally bought Moldovan prepaid SIM may include a smaller EU roaming volume than its domestic data bucket. Orange Moldova's eSIM PrePay page, for example, separates domestic data from a 3.83 GB EU roaming limit on the advertised starter offer. Keep a copy of the tariff and verify data selection after entering Romania or another neighbouring network.
Orange eSIM PrePay is app-led
Orange Moldova lets a new prepaid customer obtain an eSIM through the My Orange app. Its instructions are to check phone compatibility, create an Orange account, choose a new number and the prepaid offer, pay online, then install the profile while a stable internet connection is available. This is a local number with calls as well as data, so it is a different product from a data-only travel eSIM. An unlocked and compatible phone is needed for any second operator line.
At the time of checking, Orange advertised its PrePay starter at 49 Moldovan lei, with 30 GB at activation and a further 20 GB available through My Orange within five days; it stated a 15-day resource validity and a 3.83 GB EU roaming ceiling. Its main prepaid page says that particular activation promotion was valid only until 30 September 2026, so it has now ended. Treat the data figures as past promotional pricing and check the current offer at checkout before planning around it.
Moldcell offers an app route and a shop route
Moldcell says a new prepaid number with eSIM can be bought in the my moldcell app. The customer creates an account with an email address, selects a tariff and number, pays using an available method, and activates the digital profile. For a QR code issued through a Moldcell Center, the operator instructs customers to bring a valid identity document; the QR code may be printed or emailed. The page does not specify which foreign passports are accepted in every store, so confirm the document requirement directly if visiting as a non-resident.
A useful distinction on Moldcell's help page concerns replacing a lost profile. It says the SIM or eSIM restoration process in the app is available for registered prepaid numbers and subscription customers, but not for an unregistered prepaid card. Registering a number can therefore matter even if initial activation seems straightforward. Save the account email and purchase record, and do not erase the only active profile merely to test a different phone.
Use the regulator's figures and road measurements
Moldova's communications regulator identifies Orange Moldova, Moldcell and Moldtelecom as the mobile-network providers in its 2025 statistical yearbook. It reports operator-supplied 4G territorial coverage of 99.0% for Orange and Moldcell and 90.1% for Moldtelecom. Population coverage is a different measure: the same table reports 99.0%, 99.9% and 88.6% respectively. National percentages cannot promise reception at a particular address or on a moving bus.
The regulator also describes a mobile coverage and quality map based on field measurements along national roads and in towns. Its published explainer says the map can filter one provider and 2G, 3G or 4G technology, then show the measurement campaign period for an individual road or location. Its measurements run through 2022, so treat road detail as historical. Compare it with the chosen provider's current map for the actual overnight stops.
Before a road trip through Orhei, Soroca or Cahul, download the route offline and inspect long sections between towns, not just the cities at either end. The regulator's road map is designed to show measurements for specific national roads and localities, while its yearbook gives only national coverage totals. Test maps, booking messages and a backup connection in Chișinău before a long onward journey. High population coverage cannot prove that every rural bend has data.
Do not make 5G a condition of a working trip
The regulator's 2025 yearbook shows 5G was still at an early stage: its operator-reported territorial coverage figures were 7.1% for Orange and 0.4% for Moldcell, with no Moldtelecom 5G entry. The corresponding population measures were 21.8% and 3.7%. These are network coverage figures provided by operators to the regulator, and do not say that every tariff or roaming customer can use 5G.
Orange Moldova's own 5G page names Chișinău, Bălți, Cahul, Ungheni, Orhei and Soroca as cities with availability. It expressly says access requires a compatible 5G phone, a 5G-enabled Orange subscription and being within the deployed area. A traveller taking Orange's prepaid eSIM should not infer 5G access merely from the city list, because the operator describes subscription eligibility on that page. Choose a plan for its usable 4G data and local coverage; treat 5G as an extra only where the tariff confirms it.
Have a first connection and a voice fallback
Set up the My Orange or my moldcell account while a connection is available, and keep the installation instructions, payment receipt and accommodation address offline. An app-based eSIM purchase may be possible before arrival, but the operator pages do not confirm a working public Wi-Fi network or a guaranteed SIM desk at Chișinău airport. If activation is still pending when the aircraft lands, a second line or previously enabled EU roaming gives a route to the app and payment screen. Test a map and a normal webpage before travelling onward.
Moldova's regulator reports the launch of the 112MD mobile app in March 2026 as another route to the national emergency service, including accessibility features. The country's emergency number is 112. A data-only travel eSIM should not be assumed to support a normal voice emergency call; keep a voice-capable SIM or another reliable calling route. Save the accommodation's exact location and the emergency number where they can be read offline.
Connectivity terms can also change at a political border. The UK government's Moldova travel advice says Transnistria is outside Moldovan government control and advises against all travel there. Moldcell's own material treats calls to numbers in that region separately from ordinary included national calls. Do not extrapolate a Moldovan domestic allowance or EU roaming rule to every network and number across that region. For ordinary trips elsewhere in Moldova, compare the EU allowance with our Moldova plan page before choosing a second line.
Networks our Moldova plans use
These are the operators named on our plans for Moldova, taken from the plan data, so the list follows the catalogue.
- Moldcell4G
- Orange5G
- Orange Moldova4G
- Unité4G