Wholesale Phones for Aruba and Curaçao: Bands, Duty, and What Actually Sells

Aruba and Curaçao are small islands with real buying power, and resellers there get burned by the same thing over and over: a phone that looked fine on the spec sheet and sits on 3G once the SIM goes in. The networks on both islands are narrower than most buyers expect, and a US-market handset is not automatically a good fit.

Here's what actually matters before you commit to a 30-unit order for either island.

Aruba: Setar and Digicel both lean on 1800 MHz

Aruba has two mobile operators, Setar and Digicel, and both run 2G, 3G and 4G. Setar's LTE runs on 1800 MHz, which is LTE Band 3. Digicel launched LTE on Band 3 as well, plus Band 1 at 2100 MHz.

That combination is European in shape, not North American. A handset built primarily for a US carrier may support Bands 2, 4, 12 and 13 beautifully and still have a thin story on Band 3. You can check the current band list for each operator on FrequencyCheck's Setar Aruba page before you buy, not after your customer complains.

Curaçao: Flow and Digicel, plus a legacy 850 wrinkle

Curaçao is served by Flow (Cable & Wireless) and Digicel. Both run LTE on 1800 MHz, so Band 3 is again the band that decides whether a phone performs. Digicel's own LTE network FAQ for Curaçao is the cleanest primary source on what the network expects from a device.

The wrinkle is legacy coverage. Flow historically ran GSM and 3G at 850 MHz, closer to a North American plan, while Digicel used 900 MHz for 2G and 2100 MHz for 3G. That split matters less every year as older networks retire, but it still explains why two customers on the same island report different fallback behaviour from the same handset.

No 5G on either island yet, and that changes your model mix

As of the most recent public network surveys, neither Aruba nor Curaçao has commercial 5G. Devices there run on 4G or lower. That is genuinely useful information for a wholesale buyer, because it means the premium you pay for a 5G-only selling point does not convert into anything the end user can feel today.

The practical read: mid-tier LTE handsets with solid Band 3 support and a good screen sell better per dollar on these islands than chasing the newest flagship. Save the flagship allocation for buyers who want status, and load your volume into models that just work.

Aruba's import duty and turnover taxes on a 30-unit order

Duty is where island margin quietly disappears. Aruba applies import duty by tariff code, and electronics are commonly cited around 12%, with turnover taxes (BBO, BAVP and BAZV) applied on top. Rates change, so treat any figure you read online as a starting point and confirm the current one against the Government of Aruba import duties page or with your customs broker.

The mechanic worth remembering is that duty is calculated on the value of the goods plus freight, not on the invoice alone. On a 30-unit order that difference is small per handset and meaningful across the pallet. Build it into your landed cost before you quote a retail price, not after.

What moves well on both islands

• Global or LATAM variants rather than US carrier-locked stock, so Band 3 is covered.

• Mid-tier Samsung Galaxy A series and Motorola Moto G, which are built for exactly this band plan.

• Unlocked iPhone global variants, which carry a near-universal band set.

• Dual-SIM models, since plenty of island buyers run a local and a travel line.

Grading condition and checking band support are two separate steps. A refurbished unit that passed a cosmetic grade can still be the wrong regional variant, so do both checks before the pallet leaves Miami.

Before your next order

None of this costs anything to verify. It costs a lot to skip. A1A Solutions ships from Doral, Florida with a 30-unit MOQ, wire transfer only, FOB Miami, and we stock global and LATAM variants across iPhone, Samsung, Motorola, Xiaomi and 40-plus brands because our buyers ship to markets exactly like these.

You can see country detail on our Aruba and Curaçao wholesale page, compare it with the wider Caribbean distribution overview, or browse the full wholesale cell phone catalog.

Want a band check on specific models before you buy? Message us on WhatsApp or register as a new client for live pricing.