Mobile calls to and from Australia

jd79

My daughter is going to OZ for a one year work exchange - what would be the best the best mobile deal so the that she can stay in touch?

King_David_2

Will your daughter have access to a PC when she is over there? I am sure that this has been mentioned in the past on here, but the program Skype may be a good idea.

I think you'd both need a headset too, but it shouldn't cost anything providing it is from PC to PC.

I am having a visitor from Australia in the Spring - once your daughter is there she won't want to come back!

chalky_bertie

Just returned from NZ after 4 weeks and took my mobile with us (virgin payg dd). Texting wasn't bad rates but to calll it was 60p per minute and the mobile caller also pays for incoming calls. We spent about £70. She may be better buying phonecards which will work out alot cheaper or perhaps you could use the phone for texts only and emergencies.

jd79

Thanks for your helpful replies. She will not have access to a laptop. I have looked at the Vodaphone Australia Red Sim Card offered by https://www.0044.co.uk which will give her a an OZ tel. no. at a reasonable cost and with decent rates I hope.

Steve_xx

Better if she calls you and gives you her number, then you call her back.

See the following link, which shows that you can call Oz for 1p per minute. Calls to Oz mobiles might cost more.

http://niftylist.co.uk/country_14.html

monomer

Thanks for your helpful replies. She will not have access to a laptop. I have looked at the Vodaphone Australia Red Sim Card offered by www.0044.co.uk which will give her a an OZ tel. no. at a reasonable cost and with decent rates I hope.

I agree. If she's going to be gone for a year, then it'll be worth her getting an Aussie mobile number because she's going to need to have a number to be contacted on locally (by Aussie employers or friends etc.) It'll be cheaper in the long run to get a local Aussie SIM card, but I'd recommend waiting until she gets out there and not to she buy one before she goes (it's substantially cheaper to get one over there).

The best way would be to take an unlocked dual-band mobile phone with her. If she already has a UK mobile number, then she can then use international roaming temporarily on that (mainly for emergency/last resort use). I wouldn't recommend that she starts any new contracts with mobile networks in the UK as the inclusive minutes/texts don't include roaming/overseas and it'll just be a waste.

Once in Australia, her best option for calling home in the first few days is to get a phone card to use from a landline (very widely available from newsagents - plenty of choice). Usually there's a local charge to be paid per call, plus the going international rate on the calling card.

As Steve_xx (above) points out, it'll be cheaper for you to call her on an Aussie landline than it is the other way round.

At some point, she'll be wanting to get an Aussie mobile number. There are 3 main mobile networks in Oz: Telstra, 'Yes' optus and Vodafone. I think they have the '3' and Virgin networks out there too, but I'm not sure what they're like. Usually it's quite simple to buy a mobile pay-as-you-go SIM card, and the cost of the SIM - usually around AUD $30 - is partly (sometimes wholly) reimbursed by the credit that comes supplied with the new SIM. Having an unlocked dual-band (or tri-band) phone is handy, as she won't need to buy a new mobile phone.

She'll not likely qualify for a contract mobile phone because the minimum term for a mobile contract is usually 2 years. Each network has different pay-as-you-go price plans, but there's plenty of time to compare them, so "no worries"

I'm sure she'll have a fantastic time and I'm sure she'll be speaking fluent Australian in no time at all!

Steve_xx

Do also remember that if she does take a UK SIM card out there, on a either a contract or PAYG basis, that she will incur charges for any calls she receives as well as for any she makes.

liznewman

I was in Australia for 6 months last year. What I did was take my mobile with me and I brought a Aussie simm card while I was over there. You need a phone with ..think its called tri band? Anyhow calls were much cheaper and the simm was cheap as the exchange rates in Aus was really good against the £

I am sure she will have a brilliant time. I am going back next year it is a brilliant country.

chalky_bertie

only DUAL BAND required for OZ and NZ