Mobile for moving abroad

aurora_borealis_2

I have searched and read but I'm old and don't understand easily


What is the best way to provide phone contact for my DD3 who is going to school in Singapore for two years but also home for long periods bvetween terms?

She will also be travelling all over SE Asia.

We have skype on our PCs but for handset calls, what is available?

Thank you.

Please answer as though I'm an idiot.

redux

The first thing is the choice of phone. Any dualband phone from here will work in almost all countries there, the exceptions being South Korea and Japan, where a 3g phone from here is compatible with some of their networks.

To use SIM cards from other networks, the phone may need to be unlocked from its current one - try a different SIM in and if it asks for an unlock or subsidy code, then it's locked. Either a few quid in some shops or market stalls, or for some you can get codes calculated for free online, or even (mainly some Nokias) on pinned threads at the top of this board.

Then, choice of SIM card: she should have a Singapore one, and you can check out networks and their tariffs at http://www.prepaidgsm.net/en/singapore.html - I notice that page hasn't been updated for a couple of years though, so the networks may have different rates and options now

I just looked at a couple of the network websites, and I think there are some interesting possibilities. Also, I want to comment on going to other countries, like maybe using a global SIM.

-but I've got to go out now and will come back and post more this evening ..... I just wanted to say something now so you didn't think nobody had noticed this thread

mikegahan

Assuming she has a handset with a local SIM card then you will be able to call or text her very cheaply using services like 18185.co.uk, which for example charges 1p per international text. Dunno what services are available her end

aurora_borealis_2

Thank you very much, so far.

It's all very confusing on top of all the other visa/jabs/money/packing stuff we're trying to sort out

redux

I'll say it's confusing, and I'm only looking up phone calls! I've got about 8 windows open at the moment

There are special contracts for students - it says any students, and for 24 months; there are pay-as-you-go top-up offers with augmented value, but which only lasts 50 days; there's more than one way of making international calls on each network, including free call bundles for about $5 a month, but I haven't quite figured out if that's on top of the local call rate or instead of. Also, it's a country where incoming calls are also paid for, but there seem to be opt-outs of this either for a daily fee, or included in some bundles

About international calls - where we have 00 or + before the country code, from some countries different prefixes can be used which determine what service is carrying the call, like a preselect, and these are the so-called IDD (int'l direct dial) prefixes they mention, such as 001, 021

I think I'll have to come back to it tomorrow evening instead, when I hope to get in a bit earlier and might not have to get up as early, but in the meantime, these are some of the pages I'm looking at:

http://m1.com.sg/M1/site/M1Corp/menuitem.e2f30a2a1a1860b609b422103f2000a0/?vgnextoid=66cd609933b72010VgnVCM100000275a160aRCRD&vgnextfmt=pdate:0601041111:#idd021

http://home.singtel.com/youth/deals_students.asp

https://icclink.singtel.com/ratescheck/rcsinet_main.jsp?prod_code=V019&rate_type=con/main/home.asp

http://home.singtel.com/consumer/products/mobile/value_added_services/free_v019_calls_overview.asp

http://home.singtel.com/upload_hub/consumer/hot100.htm#

http://www.starhub.com/portal/site/Mobile/menuitem.fa5de0382de984d530710a608324a5a0/?vgnextoid=411b7e9a4a73c010VgnVCM10000038425a0aRCRD

It was the v019 (I think the v means VoIP) int'l rates on Singtel, and their bundle of free calls for equiv to £2 a month, that I noticed this morning, but UK isn't one of the included countries. Same goes for 021 on M1. That can be worked around by using a US number and forwarding it via another VoIP account, which you could also use to call her cheaply, but I need to look some more when I don't have a headache, sorry

pavlovs_dog

have you contacted the college to see if they can give you any info that would help you to prepare and rosie to adjust in her first few days and weeks? granted i doubt they'd be much help on the phone front (and i used up all my thinking-outside-the-box skills on your last thread so im not going to be much use either) but someone somewhere must have gone through it before and is therefore in a position to offer advice. have you PM'd Divadee? her parents have emigrated over there for a few years - perhaps she can offer info and advice?

RE phone unlocking, if you cant do it for free via the threads on here there is often a stall downstairs in queens arcade (opposite the post office) that offers such a service.

aurora_borealis_2

redux wrote: »

I'll say it's confusing, and I'm only looking up phone calls! I've got about 8 windows open at the moment

There are special contracts for students - it says any students, and for 24 months; there are pay-as-you-go top-up offers with augmented value, but which only lasts 50 days; there's more than one way of making international calls on each network, including free call bundles for about $5 a month, but I haven't quite figured out if that's on top of the local call rate or instead of. Also, it's a country where incoming calls are also paid for, but there seem to be opt-outs of this either for a daily fee, or included in some bundles

About international calls - where we have 00 or + before the country code, from some countries different prefixes can be used which determine what service is carrying the call, like a preselect, and these are the so-called IDD (int'l direct dial) prefixes they mention, such as 001, 021

I think I'll have to come back to it tomorrow evening instead, when I hope to get in a bit earlier and might not have to get up as early, but in the meantime, these are some of the pages I'm looking at:

http://m1.com.sg/M1/site/M1Corp/menuitem.e2f30a2a1a1860b609b422103f2000a0/?vgnextoid=66cd609933b72010VgnVCM100000275a160aRCRD&vgnextfmt=pdate:0601041111:#idd021

http://home.singtel.com/youth/deals_students.asp

https://icclink.singtel.com/ratescheck/rcsinet_main.jsp?prod_code=V019&rate_type=con/main/home.asp

http://home.singtel.com/consumer/products/mobile/value_added_services/free_v019_calls_overview.asp

http://home.singtel.com/upload_hub/consumer/hot100.htm#

http://www.starhub.com/portal/site/Mobile/menuitem.fa5de0382de984d530710a608324a5a0/?vgnextoid=411b7e9a4a73c010VgnVCM10000038425a0aRCRD

It was the v019 (I think the v means VoIP) int'l rates on Singtel, and their bundle of free calls for equiv to £2 a month, that I noticed this morning, but UK isn't one of the included countries. Same goes for 021 on M1. That can be worked around by using a US number and forwarding it via another VoIP account, which you could also use to call her cheaply, but I need to look some more when I don't have a headache, sorry

I'm not surprised your head hurts!

Not just me then? I find this all very confusing

pavlovs_dog

how about two empty bean tins and a really loooooooooooooooooooooooooong piece of string? think that might work?