Hotels FAQ » Hostel » Best cellular package/network to get for a backpacker?
Question:
A friend of mine wants to know which cell service to use to get his daughter a cellular phone for her 3 month backpacking tour of Australia. She will arrive in Sydney and be backpack up the east coast. I think the majority of her calls will be to and from her father here in Canada. Thanks in advance for any advice or suggestions.
Response:
Vodafone does $3 for 10 min on International calls to some countries, not sure about Canada. Tell her to get a prepay and Vodafone will probably be the best bet. Other wise try iSim www.isim.com.au who are also cheap. Don’t bother with an phone on account. If she has her own GSM phone, then she just needs to get a SIM card here. Generally they cost $30 and come with a $30 credit so if she is not happy with the first card she gets, then once the credit is used, she can get another one from another company rather than topping up the one that she has. If coverage in the country is what she wants, then Telstra CDMA pre-pay is what we use. You can buy a Nokia 2280 for $148 with $20 credit here in OZ. Still the most expensive network to use though. For International calls, a calling card is best and calls can be cheap as. eg OZCALL has rates of 0.9c/min from Australia to Canada – plus whatever it costs to make a local call. www.cardcall.com.au . Shops close to any backpacker hostel will have a wide range of calling cards with real cheap rates – it is hard to pick the best one, there are so many to choose from but the Cardcall ones are probably as good as any. SteveS
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> A friend of mine wants to know which cell service to use to get his > daughter a cellular phone for her 3 month backpacking tour of > Australia. She will arrive in Sydney and be backpack up the east > coast. > I think the majority of her calls will be to and from her father here > in Canada. > Thanks in advance for any advice or suggestions.
Response:
> > I think the majority of her calls will be to and from her father here > in Canada. > If she has her own GSM phone, then she just needs to get a SIM card here.
If she has a North American GSM phone, it might not work in Australia (unless it is a tri-band). North American GSM operates in the GSM1900 band, while Australian GSM operates in the GSM900 and GSM1800 bands.
Response:
> A friend of mine wants to know which cell service to use to get his > daughter a cellular phone for her 3 month backpacking tour of > Australia. She will arrive in Sydney and be backpack up the east > coast.
On our last trip we bought a Telstra prepaid card. I got regestired after a (toll free) 5 minute call to Telstra’s hotline and could use it perfectly for calling home (Germany). And we had access at even remote places (little villages along the coast). The 25$ for a prepaid card are a wise investment. It’s just better to know that you can call roadservice, make bookings at restaurants, inform your hotel about late arrival … My German Vodafone GSM-Card would work, but roaming is reather expensive (also, if you receive calls!). It’s still interesting to bring your German Vodafone Card, as you can send (and receive) shortmessages back home for free! Don’t know about rates for Canadian Vodafo Cards though. I also would check for the GSM-type you’re using at home (and consider buying a triband) as Gordon said. We will definetly try to get a new prepaid card from Telstra on our next tour to Australia in October. Have a look at <communicate.com.au>. Bego — "Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we." - George W. Bush, 5.8.2004
Response:
Telstra has the best coverage – used in conjunction with a callback service (Remember in Australia you do NOT pay for incoming mobile calls – unlike Canada!). There are several callback providers – and they are CHEAP!!!! We used: http://www.callbackworld.com/ Have Fun!!
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->A friend of mine wants to know which cell service to use to get his > daughter a cellular phone for her 3 month backpacking tour of > Australia. She will arrive in Sydney and be backpack up the east > coast. > I think the majority of her calls will be to and from her father here > in Canada. > Thanks in advance for any advice or suggestions.
Response:
> A friend of mine wants to know which cell service to use to get his > daughter a cellular phone for her 3 month backpacking tour of > Australia. She will arrive in Sydney and be backpack up the east > coast. > I think the majority of her calls will be to and from her father here > in Canada. > Thanks in advance for any advice or suggestions.
Adding to the other responses: Also realize that outside major cities/towns, one generally will have *no* coverage, so mobile phones will not work at all! What we used as an alternative is a *normal* Telstra phone card, i.e. (mainly) for use with a normal phone. They have free-of-charge call-in numbers and you can enable voicemail on the card. That way people can leave a message for you (you will have to give them your voicemail box number and (Oz) call-in number. When you call the free call-in number, you will be notified if there are any messages for you. You can easily add money to these cards (also by credit card). You can transfer the balance and voicemail box of one card to another, and if you look carefully you can have a card with a long expiration time (my current one was bought in October 2002 and expires in December 2004). You can use their cards from/in most countries, often with free-of-charge call-in numbers. So for example, I can call free-of-charge from The Netherlands to check my balance. Telstra is by no means the cheapest (in per-minute rates) card, but is very convenient for occasional use. If you want to call frequently, then *also* buy a cheap but less flexible card, for example the "Super Saver" cards from Coles supermarkets (AUD$ 30 for *500* minutes to most countries in Europe and North America).
Response:
Is the information about cell access still applicable for more remote regions: like bicycling the Stuart Hwy (between Adelaide-Darwin) or the "Savannah Way" between Roper Bar (NT) or Mattaranka and Cairns? Ken Canada – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > A friend of mine wants to know which cell service to use to get his > daughter a cellular phone for her 3 month backpacking tour of > Australia. She will arrive in Sydney and be backpack up the east > coast. > I think the majority of her calls will be to and from her father here > in Canada. > Thanks in advance for any advice or suggestions.
Response:
> Is the information about cell access still applicable for more remote > regions: like bicycling the Stuart Hwy (between Adelaide-Darwin) or the > "Savannah Way" between Roper Bar (NT) or Mattaranka and Cairns? > Ken > Canada
Yup, no coverage outside major cities/towns. For details, see for example <http://www.telstra.com.au/mobile/networks/coverage/maps.cfm>. These maps are very/’too’ detailed, but you can zoom out. IIRC, there used to be less detailed maps, but I can not find them at the moment. You should probably carry a satelite safety beacon (EPIRB) for emergencies. It can give a one way signal (not message), including your (GPS) location, to the emergency services. Misuse is obviously heavily fined. You can rent or buy these devices.
Response:
Telstra has the best coverage hands down of all the "networks", some of the try-hards only cover metro areas. Rates are competitive, so the choice is real easy. As others have said, if you’re mainly in rural areas, CDMA coverage is worth considering, but obviously needs a separate phone. I’m not sure if there’s any CDMA/GSM handsets out there.
> A friend of mine wants to know which cell service to use to get his > daughter a cellular phone for her 3 month backpacking tour of > Australia. She will arrive in Sydney and be backpack up the east > coast. > I think the majority of her calls will be to and from her father here > in Canada. > Thanks in advance for any advice or suggestions.
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