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#1
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Australian Phone card or cell phone
My son is going on a Student Ambassador trip to Australia. They recommend
getting phone cards. I have a cell phone that will accept a SIM card for Australia. I have a local source for a 'Yes' Optus SIM card. I am trying to decide which choice is best cell phone or phone card. The SIM card cost about USD $50. It allows unlimited free inbound calls and has credits for a about 70 minutes of talk time for a call from Australia to the US. The rate is AUD $0.165 (USD $0.12) to connect plus AUD $0.29/minute (USD $0.22/minute). The SIM Card also provides a local Australian phone number to call. I know little about the Australian phone cards. How hard are they to use with Australian phones (My Son is 11 years old). What type of costs are involved? How universal is access to phones. My son will be traveling from Sydney working his way up to the Great Barrier Reef area. There is one stay at a farm in the "Outback" which on the map does not look that far from the coast, maybe 100 miles. I am interested to know if there is a less expensive cell phone network than the Optus. I am also interested in how good Australian Cell phone coverage is along the Eastern side of the continent. Any help you can give will be appreciated Thanks Andy |
#3
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Australian Phone card or cell phone
We use a "Say G'day" phone card available at all Post Offices for keeping in
contact with out son in the US. See http://www.saygdaycallingcard.com/ If you look at http://www.phonecardrates.com.au/showsearch.asp it gives you various options, that may be worth following up, but we found that being able to just go to the PO and purchase it and then top it up was very convenient. Julie "Raffi Balmanoukian" a wrote in message news:BC1DDFC5.1EE25%walkabout@TAKEOUTTHETRASHTOREP LY.ns.sympatico.ca... Good on him, for a start (they're called "mobiles" in Australia....most will know what a "cell" is from the proliferation of N.American TV but it's still not the term of choice). For the cities, he's better off getting one of the numerous o/s calling cards which allow for rates as low as AUD0.05 per minute to Canada/US. Different cards have different calling terms, where they apply, and so on. They don't allow for incoming calls for the most part, though. Just don't get him a phone which has text messaging - Australians are crazy about it and he'll come back with carpal tunnel in his thumb! in article , sbc news at wrote on 1/4/04 2:50 PM: My son is going on a Student Ambassador trip to Australia. They recommend getting phone cards. I have a cell phone that will accept a SIM card for Australia. I have a local source for a 'Yes' Optus SIM card. I am trying to decide which choice is best cell phone or phone card. The SIM card cost about USD $50. It allows unlimited free inbound calls and has credits for a about 70 minutes of talk time for a call from Australia to the US. The rate is AUD $0.165 (USD $0.12) to connect plus AUD $0.29/minute (USD $0.22/minute). The SIM Card also provides a local Australian phone number to call. I know little about the Australian phone cards. How hard are they to use with Australian phones (My Son is 11 years old). What type of costs are involved? How universal is access to phones. My son will be traveling from Sydney working his way up to the Great Barrier Reef area. There is one stay at a farm in the "Outback" which on the map does not look that far from the coast, maybe 100 miles. I am interested to know if there is a less expensive cell phone network than the Optus. I am also interested in how good Australian Cell phone coverage is along the Eastern side of the continent. Any help you can give will be appreciated Thanks Andy |
#4
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Australian Phone card or cell phone
I am guessing that you want the phone so you can contact him while he is
here you can get sim cards starting at $30 which is all you need if that's all you want to do this way you can call him and its at no cost to the sim www.vodafone.com.au always pushes reasonable international call rates using the mobile he could get a $10 phone card when he arrives to use at payphones, these give about 200 mins of call time to the states for when he wants to call home "sbc news" wrote in message m... My son is going on a Student Ambassador trip to Australia. They recommend getting phone cards. I have a cell phone that will accept a SIM card for Australia. I have a local source for a 'Yes' Optus SIM card. I am trying to decide which choice is best cell phone or phone card. The SIM card cost about USD $50. It allows unlimited free inbound calls and has credits for a about 70 minutes of talk time for a call from Australia to the US. The rate is AUD $0.165 (USD $0.12) to connect plus AUD $0.29/minute (USD $0.22/minute). The SIM Card also provides a local Australian phone number to call. I know little about the Australian phone cards. How hard are they to use with Australian phones (My Son is 11 years old). What type of costs are involved? How universal is access to phones. My son will be traveling from Sydney working his way up to the Great Barrier Reef area. There is one stay at a farm in the "Outback" which on the map does not look that far from the coast, maybe 100 miles. I am interested to know if there is a less expensive cell phone network than the Optus. I am also interested in how good Australian Cell phone coverage is along the Eastern side of the continent. Any help you can give will be appreciated Thanks Andy |
#5
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Australian Phone card or cell phone
Coverage: Telstra is best - but coverage generally is good for 98% of the
population - not so good for the real outback (well west of the coast). Coverage maps are available on all three major carriers' web sites (Telstra, Optus Vodafone). Access to phones: Comparable with the USA or Canada. Have you thought about a callback service?? (We used one on our mobile phone this year when we spent 12 weeks away (in Canada, Ireland, Italy and Turkey). Bought a prepaid sim in each country (most difficult in Canada - where the gsm networks are limited). Simply register your phone number when you get the sim - then call a US number - let it ring twice - hang up. They call you back on your mobile and you enter the number you wish to call - very cheap!! Sounds much more complicated than it is. Do a Google to find service operators. We used: http://www.callback.com As a teacher who has taken students overseas - your son will be complacent about his belongings' security for the first two or three days (just plain mislaying things is the concern - not theft). I don't know what you can do to prepare him - as supervising teachers we used have to pick up all sorts of stuff - but only for the first three days - kids adapt remarkably quickly. Good Luck Paul Remove the obvious! "sbc news" wrote in message m... My son is going on a Student Ambassador trip to Australia. They recommend getting phone cards. I have a cell phone that will accept a SIM card for Australia. I have a local source for a 'Yes' Optus SIM card. I am trying to decide which choice is best cell phone or phone card. The SIM card cost about USD $50. It allows unlimited free inbound calls and has credits for a about 70 minutes of talk time for a call from Australia to the US. The rate is AUD $0.165 (USD $0.12) to connect plus AUD $0.29/minute (USD $0.22/minute). The SIM Card also provides a local Australian phone number to call. I know little about the Australian phone cards. How hard are they to use with Australian phones (My Son is 11 years old). What type of costs are involved? How universal is access to phones. My son will be traveling from Sydney working his way up to the Great Barrier Reef area. There is one stay at a farm in the "Outback" which on the map does not look that far from the coast, maybe 100 miles. I am interested to know if there is a less expensive cell phone network than the Optus. I am also interested in how good Australian Cell phone coverage is along the Eastern side of the continent. Any help you can give will be appreciated Thanks Andy |
#6
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Australian Phone card or cell phone
"sbc news" wrote in message m... My son is going on a Student Ambassador trip to Australia. They recommend getting phone cards. I have a cell phone that will accept a SIM card for Australia. I have a local source for a 'Yes' Optus SIM card. I am trying to decide which choice is best cell phone or phone card. The SIM card cost about USD $50. It allows unlimited free inbound calls and has credits for a about 70 minutes of talk time for a call from Australia to the US. The rate is AUD $0.165 (USD $0.12) to connect plus AUD $0.29/minute (USD $0.22/minute). The SIM Card also provides a local Australian phone number to call. I know little about the Australian phone cards. How hard are they to use with Australian phones (My Son is 11 years old). What type of costs are involved? How universal is access to phones. My son will be traveling from Sydney working his way up to the Great Barrier Reef area. There is one stay at a farm in the "Outback" which on the map does not look that far from the coast, maybe 100 miles. I am interested to know if there is a less expensive cell phone network than the Optus. I am also interested in how good Australian Cell phone coverage is along the Eastern side of the continent. Any help you can give will be appreciated Thanks Andy Consider using a combination: prepaid SIM in case you need to contact him, and a phone card so he can call you without breaking the bank. There's a wide range of cards available, and many can be purchased through convenience stores. Take a look at http://www.ozprepaidcards.com.au/ for rate comparisons; some are ridiculously cheap for calls to the US. (You don't have to buy through them, the cards are also available over the counter.) However, many only have dial-in locations in capital cities or centres with large migrant (or overseas student) populations, and while they may have a toll-free number for use from other locations, the surcharge for using it can really deplete your card quickly. Dave Campbell |
#7
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Australian Phone card or cell phone
Get *both*, i.e. a SIM card for the mobile phone and a phone card for
use with any public phone. Mobile phone coverage can be problematic/ absent especially in remote areas, so you should never rely on only a mobile phone. OTOH, public phones are 'everywhere' where there is some form of life/business_activity, *also* is remote areas. I advise to buy a cheap (in call rates) phone card *and* a Telstra Phone Away card. The Telstra card has high(er) rates, but is very flexible and can be used with a free local number from anywhere. It also offers a voicemail box, so you can leave a message for your son. The next time he calls the free number he will hear that he has voicemal. Telstra cards start at AU$ 10. sbc news wrote: My son is going on a Student Ambassador trip to Australia. They recommend getting phone cards. I have a cell phone that will accept a SIM card for Australia. I have a local source for a 'Yes' Optus SIM card. I am trying to decide which choice is best cell phone or phone card. The SIM card cost about USD $50. It allows unlimited free inbound calls and has credits for a about 70 minutes of talk time for a call from Australia to the US. The rate is AUD $0.165 (USD $0.12) to connect plus AUD $0.29/minute (USD $0.22/minute). The SIM Card also provides a local Australian phone number to call. I know little about the Australian phone cards. How hard are they to use with Australian phones (My Son is 11 years old). What type of costs are involved? How universal is access to phones. My son will be traveling from Sydney working his way up to the Great Barrier Reef area. There is one stay at a farm in the "Outback" which on the map does not look that far from the coast, maybe 100 miles. I am interested to know if there is a less expensive cell phone network than the Optus. I am also interested in how good Australian Cell phone coverage is along the Eastern side of the continent. Any help you can give will be appreciated Thanks Andy |
#8
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Australian Phone card or cell phone
"sbc news" wrote in message
m... My son is going on a Student Ambassador trip to Australia. They recommend getting phone cards. I have a cell phone that will accept a SIM card for Australia. I have a local source for a 'Yes' Optus SIM card. I am trying to decide which choice is best cell phone or phone card. You can buy an starter kit at any 7-11 or news agency. Just make sure you phone is unlocked. The SIM card cost about USD $50. It allows unlimited free inbound calls and has credits for a about 70 minutes of talk time for a call from Australia to the US. The rate is AUD $0.165 (USD $0.12) to connect plus AUD $0.29/minute (USD $0.22/minute). The SIM Card also provides a local Australian phone number to call. I had a starter kit when I was in OZ last year. Keep in mind that while incoming calls are free the caller does pay. For example if you called your son on his mobile (Cell) phone you rcharges would be more than if you called him on a landline phone about 10 uUS cents more a minute. He will also have voice mail. I know little about the Australian phone cards. How hard are they to use with Australian phones (My Son is 11 years old). What type of costs are involved? How universal is access to phones. My son will be traveling from Sydney working his way up to the Great Barrier Reef area. There is one stay at a farm in the "Outback" which on the map does not look that far from the coast, maybe 100 miles. I would go with the cell phone and use phone cards on a as needed basis. I am interested to know if there is a less expensive cell phone network than the Optus. I am also interested in how good Australian Cell phone coverage is along the Eastern side of the continent. Go to http://www.optus.com.au/Vign/ViewMgm...ew_354,00.html for optus info. BTW, esatern OZ is NSW, ACT, and QLD dennis |
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