SIM Cards
I will be visiting Aus and NZ for about 2 weeks starting March the 4th. An important issue that I want to resolve before traveling is the SIM Card. I own a Blackberry and my wife an android. We will obviously not be using our India SIM cards in Aus or NZ.My basic plan would be to call home for a couple of minutes everyday, so I would need about 40-50 minutes of talktime throughout my trip calling from Aus or NZ back to India. I would also need a data plan on the SIM.
I would appreciate if someone who has traveled from India to Australia or New Zealand could help out here. One option is to buy the International Calling Cards before leaving but I have not heard good things about them. I think I would prefer getting down there and buying a card. Also I would prefer buying once (I land in Melbourne) and using the same card in both countries. Can someone help me out?
Regards,
Prateek
1
1. If your android phone is unlocked (and compatible with Australia and NZ's frequencies) then buy a prepaid SIM card with voice and data plan in each country. Don't know much about blackberry so some one else might comment here.There is no single SIM card for use in both Aus and NZ that's going to give local rates - you will be local in one country and roam in the other.
2. The international calling card is not bad - it will provide a single number as you travel between Aus and NZ.
3. Look into Viber, it provides no cost call/SMS service either via local SIM or wifi
Alternatively, if you are bringing your laptop with wifi capability, you might use Skype when you can get wifi access from hotels etc.
Good luck.
3
VIBER is a free app from Google playstore but your family and friends will need to have it installed for you to call them via an internet connection.In Australia Telstra has best connection but is dearest. Sometimes Woolworth.s or Coles will have a special telstra promotion where you can get $30 worth of time/text messages/data download for $10. Check it out on ozbargains.com.au or whirlpool. net.au forums.
You will then have to change SIM in NZ. Telstra was not compatible with my phone's IMEI number, the long one under your battery. Make sure the sales person checks your phone is working and connected before you leave airport. I would have saved myself a lot of grief if I had done this. NZ has 3 carriers -telecom, vodaphone and 2???
Hope that helps a little in your decision making. JoyV
4
NZ has 3 carriers -telecom, vodaphone and 2???
Actually NZ has a lot more carriers but these are the main ones. And, Yes, 2 Degrees Mobile.
5
You first need to check your phone's compatibility with Australian network frequencies. Here's a good guide. If you are in cities only GSM-only phones are fine. In rural areas you need 3G. Note that Telstra and Optus networks use different frequency bands - some phones are compatible with both, some are not. All the cheaper pre-paid services in Australia that I know of use the Optus network. One card that may be worth looking at is Amaysim - I haven't used it as only Telstra works welll in my area but a few people have recommended it to me.And have you actually checked out the cost of using your Indian sim cards in Australia? May not actually turn out to be no more expensive than an Australian/NZ card. International data costs can be a shocker though so if you use your own phone turnoff data and just connect to free wifi whenever you can.
