Mobile Phone use in Australia/NZ

Our contract mobile phone is very expensive and we want to send texts. We will spend a few days in Singapore then go on to Australia and New Zealand. Would it be best to buy a cheap phone in Singapore or would it be better to buy at the airport in Australia. We need to phone when we arrive to confirm our transport? We would also like to text home to England. Thanks for any help.

Lynda

If you have a GSM phone just go to Telstra Shop on arrival in Australia and buy a small plan, and they will put a new mini SIM card in your phone whilst you are in Australia. Alternatively arrange with your UK provider to get Overseas Roaming on your existing phone as an extension of your existing plan . (GSM mobile phones work worldwide except for the USA, but there is limited GSM coverage in big US cities these days.)

Hi,

Do not know which Mobile Network you use but Three have a scheme for their Pay Monthly customers called 'Feel at Home'. This allows you to use your Packaged minutes/texts and data in some countries to call back to the UK, Australia is one of these countries. With data you can use it to SKYPE anywhere, free Skype to Skype or for very little to non Skype numbers.

If your landline is with BT then you could download an app; BT SmartTalk to your Smart Phone which allows you over WiFi to use your BT packaged minutes overseas back to UK. If you have the International add on then you could phone to overseas numbers as if you were phoning from your own living room!

Failing these options then purchase a Pay as you Go SIM for the countries you are visiting.

Hope this helps. Good Luck.

Dave

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Cell service in AUS is similar to the States, some carriers are better than others in various regions. During our trip last year, I had my LTE/ 4 band ATT Samsung Galaxy II phone with the Intl service plan, which was a waste of money as service was sporadic in areas outside of the big cities. We also had a Telstra sim card in my old HTC Google phone that was unlocked. It worked better in the rural areas. 4 bars where ATT had zero.

Reflecting on the experience, I'd find a local cheap plan and discardable flip phone at a shop in the cities -not at the airport. Use a tablet or laptop and hook up to wifi wherever you are for your data needs.

Has anyone tried the Vodafone ?We are thinking of buying one in Sydney to use for our 3 week stay,but I can't find reviews to see how well it works.

We live on the outskirts of Sydney but even here Vodaphone and Optus are not very good. Unfortunately Telstra has the best all round coverage and the highest prices. I have an Aldi sim with Telstra 3G coverage; bought from Aldi of course.

Thanks for the info Karennella!

will Telstra work on the ship while it's cruising the waters of South Australia?

Best to use wifi hot spots and make calls using skype in Singapore. You can not buy local phones even prepaid in Singapore unless you are a resident of Singapore, after sept 11 they upped the security and restricted this to only people with proof of residence can use local phones in Singapore.

In Australia there are many providers that u can use but telstra has the best coverage especially in more remote areas.

I'm a Singapore pr and Aussie citizen so I know what I'm talking about.

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will Telstra work on the ship while it's cruising the waters of South Australia?

Depends how close you are to the coast, you should have more luck once entering the gulf heading towards Adelaide itself as the area is more populated and there are towers closer to the shoreline.

Texts are usually cheap to send worldwide. It's phone calls and data that's expensive. If you do buy an Aussie sim you must show photo id.

If you are sticking to cities then Optus is fine. Telstra has a better general coverage.

As far the cruise goes, it really depends how close to shore you are.