Temporary PAYG sim card for australia

bigad_2

My brother is off to Australia for a month - does anyone have any tips on the best (value) PAYG sim card to go for when he arrives (or before he leaves)? He is going with a couple of friends, so they will all get the same type....they will have fairly equal usage between calls/texts to each other, calls to local numbers and calls back to the uk (or more likely receiving calls from the uk!).

Any recommendations would be much appreciated.
Locked handsets etc not an issue - all that has already been sorted.
We've looked at sites such as http://www.gosim.com , http://www.0044.co.uk/Australia.htm etc, but i'm almost certain it would be cheaper to just buy one when he arrives.

Thanks

redux

You can compare networks and tariffs on http://www.prepaidgsm.net/en/australia.html

It might be worth having an extra phone. If any of them is on Vodafone or 3 here, then also take a look at Vodafone Passport and 3 Like Home (same network coverage needed for each)

cheatthecheatingcheaters

I travel to Australia a lot, and use an Australian Vodafone prepaid sim. You can use it in your UK phone. Although, if you do that, you will not be able to receive calls on your UK sim. What I did was to buy a cheap $50 (£21) no-frills phone, stuck the Aussie sim in that, and I can still use the UK phone. Get your friends/colleagues to call the Aussie sim using 18185, for the cheapest rate, or alternately, they can call your UK mobile if you have a cost-saving plan like Vodafone Passport (but look out that you are on their preferred network and that Passport really is turned on, lest you get a nasty surprise).

Don't bother getting anything until you arrive. The phone companies have sales booths in all the Australian airport terminals, just for people like you. You can get a sim and phone on the spot. Only problem then is, you find out your Aussie number after you arrive, so you have to email your family and friends the new number when you get to the hotel. Not really a big hassle.

Vodafone (I am only familiar with their rates) have a confusing price plan, but essentially you can buy $130 credit for $29, and $310 credit for $49. I tend to not use all of the $50 in two weeks.

balt

Agree with Vodafone, you can buy sim for $2 in Woolworths Australia and get 10% off topups as well min $20. When you register you can select from three deals, its all in the booklet with sim.

Hopefullyuseful1

redux wrote: »

You can compare networks and tariffs on http://www.prepaidgsm.net/en/australia.html

It might be worth having an extra phone. If any of them is on Vodafone or 3 here, then also take a look at Vodafone Passport and 3 Like Home (same network coverage needed for each)

Vodafone's website provides information on Vodafone Passport, explaining which countries you can use this with. Until recently a preferred network was required to qualify for this service, this has been updated to use any network Vodafone have a roaming agreement with (check website for information on this also).

diamonds

calls between 3AU - 3AU prepaid are free ( 150 per recharge then 20c for 10 minutes when you have a 3G signal ) and recharge $50 ( 20.00 ) and 3 double it to $100, calls to the UK are then 16.5c per minute instead of 16.5c per 30 sec block ( how most AU telco's charge 30 sec blocks ) and thats cheaper than a payphone to UK landline, national landline & mobile calls are 30c per minute on 3G signal, 49 ( 20p ) cent per minute roaming on the best coverage network AU wide - Telstra, texts are 25c ( 10p ) and 150 free with each recharge and cover international texts aswell - for AU wide coverage and cheap UK mobile calls 3 prepaid is the way to go, also activate online and you get $20 credit to your account, yhink you pay $25 for the sim


for only AU national calls ( mobile and landline ) Virgin beancounter is a recharge from thier website and all calls and texts are 10c ( approx 3p ), just buy a sim card for $5 at most shops then call customer services to convert to beancounter tariff/plan, Bean Counter UK calls charged at 30c per 30 sec with a 25c call connection or if his mates friends are with Virgin Mobile you can now call them for free anytime of the day with the new $29 Free to V recharge voucher but call charges are 66 cent a min to other mobile networks


Vodafone AU is only cheap as above if you spend $149 on re4charge so I have not included it, but $2 from any Woolworths store ( Tesco in AU ) but high call rates

Telstra - likewise for $30 dollar recharge you can nominate 5 telstra mobile/landline numbers to call for 30 days from recharge but the call costs as AU national operator are just expensive, better with 3 prepaid roaming on Telstra where no 3G signal is, it works out cheaper than using Telstra direct


Optus - 300 free optus - optus mins with a $30 recharge but calls are on par with Telstra/vodafone


Virgin/3 are the way to go

dont buy sim at airport or it will be more expensive, wait till they go into city Harvey Norman, DSE, Woolworths, Target & K-mart always have the best deals ( usually with bonus free credit at the 2 latter )


where they all flying into ? when are they going ? it is away to go into summertime...

bigad_2

diamonds wrote: »

calls between 3AU - 3AU prepaid are free ( 150 per recharge then 20c for 10 minutes when you have a 3G signal ) and recharge $50 ( 20.00 ) and 3 double it to $100, calls to the UK are then 16.5c per minute instead of 16.5c per 30 sec block ( how most AU telco's charge 30 sec blocks ) and thats cheaper than a payphone to UK landline, national landline & mobile calls are 30c per minute on 3G signal, 49 ( 20p ) cent per minute roaming on the best coverage network AU wide - Telstra, texts are 25c ( 10p ) and 150 free with each recharge and cover international texts aswell - for AU wide coverage and cheap UK mobile calls 3 prepaid is the way to go, also activate online and you get $20 credit to your account, yhink you pay $25 for the sim


for only AU national calls ( mobile and landline ) Virgin beancounter is a recharge from thier website and all calls and texts are 10c ( approx 3p ), just buy a sim card for $5 at most shops then call customer services to convert to beancounter tariff/plan, Bean Counter UK calls charged at 30c per 30 sec with a 25c call connection or if his mates friends are with Virgin Mobile you can now call them for free anytime of the day with the new $29 Free to V recharge voucher but call charges are 66 cent a min to other mobile networks


Vodafone AU is only cheap as above if you spend $149 on re4charge so I have not included it, but $2 from any Woolworths store ( Tesco in AU ) but high call rates

Telstra - likewise for $30 dollar recharge you can nominate 5 telstra mobile/landline numbers to call for 30 days from recharge but the call costs as AU national operator are just expensive, better with 3 prepaid roaming on Telstra where no 3G signal is, it works out cheaper than using Telstra direct


Optus - 300 free optus - optus mins with a $30 recharge but calls are on par with Telstra/vodafone


Virgin/3 are the way to go

dont buy sim at airport or it will be more expensive, wait till they go into city Harvey Norman, DSE, Woolworths, Target & K-mart always have the best deals ( usually with bonus free credit at the 2 latter )


where they all flying into ? when are they going ? it is away to go into summertime...

To sydney, week after next....it is almost summertime in australia!!

I've just been looking at 3 Like Home service from Three. Looks fantastic - you can use your inclusive minutes as if you're in the UK. Has anyone used this? It looks perfect for 3-3 (while in australia) and for receiving calls from the uk. Calls to Australian numbers will be 30p per min. How does this compare to the price of pre-pay sim cards?
Another option would be to use a uk call-through service (dial uk 0845 number, followed by australian number) - I think that should bring the cost down to about 15p per min :-), and hopefully charged in 1 second increments, not minutes.
Can anyone see a flaw in my plan? Most of the lads going are on three already.....

redux

Check the 3 coverage map, as Like Home only applies on the sister network. And use an account-based callthough provider on an ordinary UK number

diamonds

three like home for UK payg was not active, only contract last I knew, but 30p a minute for a AU call is expensive when you can get it from free to 4pence ( 10 cent ) on virgin $29 v2v/beancounter, on 3AU with a $50 recharge its 12p a minute to AU national/mobile numbers but with cheap calls home to UK & 150 free international/national texts and 150free 3AU to 3AU mins per recharge so cheap cheap flexible solution for UK/AU contact

I went into a 3 store in AU bought a simcard and got them to call 3 UK for an unlock code for my mobile as 3UK prepaid could not roam in AU

my mates would ring my AU mobile and hang up - i'd call thier mobile back for 16.5 cent a minute, much much cheaper than them calling me via mobile and they used dial through providers from home for 6p a minute

but mobile to mobile ( remember you are on diffrent time zones you may get a call when you are out and about ) calls from a AU mobile to a UK mobile or vice versa are cheapest dialling out from AU to UK with that 3 AU to any UK number rate, works out about 6 pence a minute same as a UK dial through provider to AU but thats landline to AU mobile only & I doubt they have a landline at destination or you'd get 1p calls from UK dial through provider, most national to national calls between landlines in AU are 25cent ( 10p ) and untimed/unlimited but calling card rates back to the UK are standard fixed rate calling either UK landline or UK mobiles and are more expensive than the 3AU payg rate of 16.5 cent...its the cheapest UK mobile calling rate throughout AU telco's landline/voip & mobile providers

3AU sim card cost me $19.95 and I got $20 back for online activation, I then immediately bought a $50 recharge and got the double recharge - $100 credit, 150 3-3 mins & 150 texts & then the $20 online activation credit charges at half price like your $100 recharge, that $120 credit lasted me 8 weeks then it expired, with about $20 left - a great deal for 20 quid ( $50 )

thing is in AU industry is all chargeable calls are subject to minimum 25c ( 20c on 3 ) connection fee called a flagfall, bar a few mobile providers who's AU mobile calling rates are higher than Voda/Telstra & who's UK calls are like 50p a minute, landline or mobile ! thats why free 3-3 mins come in handy for calling his mates, free and no 25c connection/flagfall when they are finished its 20cent for a 10 minute 3-3 call, hang up and call back for thre same rate & the free 150 texts are great for international texting so credit is used where it needs to be used

you can also pay $3 dollars a month on 3AU prepaid for an email pack you can access from your mobile, very handy ! saves internet costs to go internet cafe to pick up email ( although you cannot use the full internet on 3 AU just the 3 portal ) and its mobile email wherever you are, MSN messenger is $5 a month

think 3 best deal but if you want more Virgin info let me know

it is Sydney summer but it gets hot mid/late dec so be good, but not to hot for them hopefully, unless summer peak kicks in earlyish - usually jan/feb where the british body cant cope & they all hang about air con shops walk a little then air con it again lol