Connectivity — Panama

To buy a prepaid SIM in Panama you must be registered: the operator has to capture an image of your passport (or Panamanian ID card) and a photo of your face, and run a biometric liveness check, before the line can be activated. There is no tourist exemption, and a prepaid line whose holder is not registered counts as unauthorised service and must be suspended. Better news for walkie-talkies: Panama's free-use table DOES include the US FRS/GMRS channels at 462 and 467 MHz, so handhelds brought from home need no licence, concession or authorisation. But the Panamanian power caps are lower than the US ones — 0.5 W on the narrow 12.5 kHz channels and 5 W on the wide 25 kHz ones — and repeaters and base stations are not permitted at all.

A prepaid line whose holder is not registered is treated as "servicio no autorizado" and the operator must suspend it immediately (ASEP Res. AN No. 18397-Telco, TERCERO, applying Ley 31 de 1996 art. 43 num. 2). Separately, causing interference to telecommunications services is an infraction under Ley 31 de 1996 art. 56 num. 3, fined under Decreto Ejecutivo 73 de 1997 arts. 304-306 on a scale from B/.1,000 up to B/.1,000,000 depending on which class of service is affected (the balboa is at par with the US dollar), and equipment in use without proper identification is subject to immediate preventive seizure under art. 85.

Verified Sep 14, 2026