Mobile phone in Australia - suggestion for temporary contract?

Originally posted by Ian Lloyd

I'm gonna be in Australia for around 7 months. During that time
I'd like to

be able to make/receive calls on a mobile. I don't want to use my
UKL mobile

(£1 per minute to make a call? No thank you!)



What's the best option for me? I really want a pay as you go option, I

reckon, and I don't want to spend a fortune on a phone (I will
bring my own

in the hope that I can simply get a Sim card and put it in my
Nokia 5210)



There must have been loads of people who have done this before, so
your

recommendations will be appreciated!



Ian



Virgin Mobile are probably the cheapest and piggy back on the
Optus Network.



www.virginmobile.com.au


--
Posted via http://britishexpats.com

On Thu, 27 Nov 2003 16:39:31 +0000, Ian Lloyd wrote:

I just changed from an O2 contract to a O2 PAYG, if that helps at all ... So
I presume it /is/ locked.

If it's an O2 contract phone, it's unlike to be locked. Only Orange and
T-mobile lock all their phones. O2 and Vodaphone lock their pay as you go
phones.

I bought a Telstra Communic8 SIM. Worked alright apart from SMS messages
to the UK. Telstra have the best coverage in rural places, though it's not
the good. Australia's a big place and GSM's not ideal over long distances.

Optus or Virgin would also be worth a look.

Jason

--
http://www.scuba-addict.co.uk/ for Maldivian trip reports including Kuredu,
Fesdu, Meedhupparu, Summer Island Village and Velidhu

On Wed, 26 Nov 2003 16:58:13 +0000, WL wrote:

Also make sure your phone is tri-band for Aus

The networks in Oz are all 900Mhz. There is some use of 1800Mhz for
fill-in in urban areas, but the only all 1800Mhz operator was Onetel and
they went bust. There's no use of 1900Mhz at all. That's only used in the
Americas.

A single band phone is fine. A dual band is better and a triband isn't
needed at all.

Jason

--
See http://www.scuba-addict.co.uk/ for Caribbean trip reports
including Cuba, Grand Bahama, Barbados, St Lucia and Mexico

Ian Lloyd wrote in message ...
I'm gonna be in Australia for around 7 months. During that time I'd like to
be able to make/receive calls on a mobile. I don't want to use my UKL mobile
(£1 per minute to make a call? No thank you!)

What's the best option for me? I really want a pay as you go option, I
reckon, and I don't want to spend a fortune on a phone (I will bring my own
in the hope that I can simply get a Sim card and put it in my Nokia 5210)

There must have been loads of people who have done this before, so your
recommendations will be appreciated!

Ian


Look on noticeboards at hostels, there's always travellers buying &
selling phones. I got a PAYG in Darwin from an English guy called Ben
for $20 (7 quid)!! Then when you leave, sell it on.

Ian Lloyd wrote:
I'm gonna be in Australia for around 7 months. During that time I'd like to
be able to make/receive calls on a mobile. I don't want to use my UKL mobile
(£1 per minute to make a call? No thank you!)

What's the best option for me? I really want a pay as you go option, I
reckon, and I don't want to spend a fortune on a phone (I will bring my own
in the hope that I can simply get a Sim card and put it in my Nokia 5210)

There must have been loads of people who have done this before, so your
recommendations will be appreciated!

Ian

May I suggest to also get a pre-paid phonecard which you can use with
a normal phone, i.e. in a phone 'booth' etc..

GSM is expensive, coverage is limited and absent in remote areas, and
then there is the time difference (i.e. do you want to be woken in the
middle of the night or/and wake someone back home?). OTOH, normal public
phones are available 'everywhere', also in remote areas. If there is
some commercial establishment, then there probably is a public phone.

We use the Telstra PhoneAway Card. While it is not the cheapest (in
rates), it is very convenient. Free local access number which works
everywhere. And it has a voicemail box, so people can leave a message
for you. We again used this on our just-finished trip and used SMS
messages in those areas where there was GSM coverage.