Cell phone in Tanzania

I'll be in Tanzania for a couple of weeks and I was thinking on bringing my GSM phone and buying a Tanzanian pre-paid card to be reacheable. I'll be travelling in the Northern parks, in Selous and in
Zanzibar.

- How would the coverage be? I'd expect none while 'deep' in the parks but what about around the lodges?
- Any recommendation on which company (Celtel?/Vodaphone?) is better?

Thanks to all

The problem I found in Kenya was that two networks used different access codes- one used +, the other 00, I forget which was which. Once resolved a
UK Orange phone worked well in Kenya and Tanzania.

Tanzania has several competing networks, with Vodafone the strongest.
Coverage is growing all the time. Very good in the Arusha area and most of the way out to the Ngorongoro. Two years ago coverage was only as far as the park gates. Last Oct there was a mast (and reception) on the crater rim, and a relay mast providing reception in some places in the Serengeti.

Be prepared for no reception in the Selous, but Zanzibar should be OK.

I tried to buy a TZ sim card in Arusha, but it didn't work with my UK Orange phone. Should be fine if you have a Vodafone phone.

TZ card will provide cheap SMS and local calls, but may be just as expensive as your home card if you are wanting to call out of the country.

Like Hans-Georg I found text to be very efficient and cheap for sending/receiving messages home, and I was happy to pay lots for the occasional local call - it was still cheaper than buying a phone to take the
TZ cards. SMS is also used extensively within TZ - people are used to sending and receiving text, but always best to check that the person you are sending to checks their phone for messages.

But when you are out in the bush, try hard to leave your phone and your watch behind. Keep your beep beeps and your ring tones to your hotel room - they do not mix well with bird song and hyena laughs.