Question about cell phones
 

Hi. I'm a little new at this, but I was wondering if someone is able to help me.

I'm going to New Zealand and Australia, and my parents want to be able to reach me if they need to.

I was wondering what would be better, purcasing a pre-paid cell phone when I'm there or just using international phone cards.

Thanks for the help

Heather

I have an opinion based on being a mom--if I wanted to be able to reach you, a cell phone would be better (however you would have to be able to keep it on all the time which might not be a good idea with a pre-paid phone) If you knew where you would be staying, they could reach you at your accommodations. In that case, a phone card on either end would accomplish the same as a cell phone and would probably be cheaper. If you had a cell phone, you could use it in country to call ahead to accommodations or if you were driving, it would be helpful in an emergency (provided you were within reach of a cell tower.) We have a calling card we purchased at Costco to make our pre-trip arrangements. Lots of minutes for $30. We also have Cingular phones and plan to buy a SIM card for it when we get to Australia. That is why we got Cingular since the other phone carriers didn't have this capability. Good luck in your decision, there are many factors.
Sally in Seattle

Heather, if you want your parents to be able to phone you (I'm sure that's what they want) you'll need a cell phone, called a "mobile" in this part of the world. In Australia you'll find plenty of offers of AU$99 or thereabouts for a basic phone with some prepaid credit. Get the saleperson to explain how to change the SIM card if you're not familiar with GSM type phones (some North American carriers use GSM, most don't).

This will get you a local number which you can give your parents. Unlike North America mobile phone numbers don't look like landline numbers, with area codes - they all start with 04 + another 8 digits. You'll get nationwide roaming automatically.

To phone you, your parents will dial the international access code (011) + Australia's country code (61) + your number, omitting the leading zero (4XX XXX XXX).

When your credit runs out you can top it up with further payments - again, get the store to explain how this works.

As mobile call charges are high I recommend that you don't use the phone to call home, and limit your use domestically. Instead, buy one of those phone cards that offer calls to North America for a few cents a minute, and use it from a payphone, hotel phone or whatever.

Now, here's where I get vague: because the price of phones bought as part of a prepaid deal is subsidised, they're normally "locked" to prevent you using another carrier's SIM card in them. Normally this would prevent you using an Australian phone in NZ, or vice versa. You'll have to sort this out with the initial vendor. I can only suggest that Vodaphone, which has operations in both countries, may have this covered. Most mobiles can be unlocked for a fee, and I believe that in some cases the unlocking code can be downloaded for free from a web site.

If you're offered a "roaming" deal that allows you to use the phone in the other country, be careful to check the call charges, which in most circimstances are very high.

Assuming you've sorted this out, when you arrive in NZ, just buy a new SIM card with some credit and slip it into the phone. You'll now have a NZ number to give to your parents. Also, buy another phone card.

If you're going to NZ first the above instructions are still good, but in reverse of course.

Last piece of advice - hang on to your phone when you go home, because a GSM phone will work in most countries in the world. However, as above it will need to be unlocked for this purpose. If you go to Fodors Europe forum and use the search facility you'll find more info on this.

An alternative: I believe that unlocked GSM phones can be bought in the USA and Canada via eBay. If you do this you can just buy SIM cards for it, with prepaid credit, almost anywhere you travel, including Europe and most of Asia.

However (there are always "howevers"), make sure that the phone operates on the international frequencies of 900 and 1800 Megahertz (MHz). A phone that uses the North American frequencies of 850 and 1900 Mhz can be used hardly anywhere else in the world. If you can score a triband phone (800-1800-1900 Mhz) or quadband (800-850-1800-1900 MHz) you could use it at home also. As mentioned, some North American carriers (eg Cingular in the US, Rogers in Canada), use GSM, although the coverage in some parts of North America isn't as good as the dominant CDMA system.

Good luck!

Looks like Sally and I are singing from the same hymn book.

Hi Heather,

As an adult child of rather paranoid parents, I've had to deal with this issue, as well. I find that a cell phone, while convenient for my parents, really takes something away from the vacation. I mean, one of the nice things about going away is being unreachable unless I want to be reached. As a compromise, I buy an international phone card, give my parents the phone numbers of all the hotels I stay at, and check e-mail at internet cafes once a day, if possible. It's worked so far...

~Elaine

"Back in the day" when I graduated from undergrad school and went to Europe for two months, it concerned neither me nor my parents about being reachable. They had the numbers of all the hotels, and could have sent a cable or telegram in an absolute emergency. What is it about our technology some 30 years later that we absolutely have to be in touch with people ALL the time, even when on vacation? Because we CAN? Frankly it makes me a little nuts. Send postcards. Send email if you must. But go, relax and get away!

oloverandharry, I think it's because we can, and because young people in particular have been brainwashed by multinationals to believe that you're a bit of a loser if you're not permanently plugged into a cellphone and an iPod, preferably at the same time. We seem to have bred a whole generation unaware of the pleasures of quietly picking up on what's going on around them - the day must be filled with noises. It's pretty sad, really.

I remember when my young sister-in-law was killed, back in the '70s, and my father-in-law had the job of contacting her older sister, who was living with her boyfriend in a remote Greek village with one phone in the middle of nowhere. It took hours and involved a chain of operators and the local post office, but it happened. I'm not sure that we're all that much better off now.

I sure agree with you Neil. And although you know I have a cell phone hardly anyone has the number to it. And 99% of the time I have it turned off. I have it for my convenience. The last thing I want while out and about be it errands, dining, on a trip etc., is phone conversations. I get enough of them at home.

I can see if a parent has a serious health problem that they would feel the need to be able to quickly reach their children but otherwise I don't think it is necessary.

BTW, I just purchased a new Cingular CellPhone which when unlocked can be used worldwide with the proper SIM card. Here is the phone number I was given (I am in California) to reach the proper division of Cingular to have them unlock my phone. It is 1-800-331-0500.

LoveItaly, just as an example of how you can come undone with technology I bought a new tri-band phone before we left home - Robyn's parents are in their '80s and not in great health, so we wanted to be contactable. The idea was to buy a SIM card from Cingular in San Francisco and another from Rogers when we got to Victoria BC. No such luck - after we saw you I was informed by a Cingular store in Market Street that the thing was locked. Now, as a rule in Australia only phones sold on a prepaid basis are locked, and I was on a 2-year plan. It turns out that the phone company had inadvertently sent out a batch of locked phones for sale to plan customers. Moral of the story: check everything you're told.

We managed, though, by buying a phone card from Walgreens and phoning home every so often.

Neal gives excellent advice and information.

Heather, you did not say where you live, but, if it is the USA, Cellular Abroad <http://www.cellularabroad.com/> can sell you a new, unlocked GSM phone and SIM cards for Australia and New Zealand. They'll even tell you your new phone number before you leave, so you can share it with your family. The real savings is that all incoming calls to you will be completely free.

When you return home, simply buy a US SIM card from T-Mobile and your phone will operate off the new, US number.

Orlando_Vic's solution looks good. Just remember that if you want to use the phone back in the USA it should be at least tri-band (900 & 1800 Mhz frequencies for Aust, NZ and most other countries and 1900 Mhz for North America).

Hi Neil, I would have been furious. With Robyn's parents in their 80's I would have wanted them to be able to contact me too. Very understable.

I had to get a new cellphone. I got a "free" one with free shipping, only had to pay the CA state tax. I was promised that I could get the phone unlocked after I received it. I documented the date, time and name of the Cingular Rep. who told me this. I must call that 800 number next week and get that done. My phone is a Sony Ericcson, a GSM 850/900/1800/1900. My grandson's said I got a real good phone..so if it passed their inspection I guess I did. IF I can get it unlocked of course.

Neil, after you got back home were you able to get your phone unlocked?

Well, LoveItaly, I wasn't too impressed, put it that way, but it wasn't the end of the world - we just called home more often than we'd intended to.

Mistakes happen and I judge companies on how they recover from their inevitable blunders. Next week Telstra gets my email. At least they (via a local employee) volunteered the info about the mixup, whereas the dealer I bought the phone from just insisted, in the face of the obvious, that "it couldn't be locked!"

Ah Neil, I too judge companies as to how they handle their blunders!

BTW, I noticed in my last post I typed "very understable". Of course I meant "very understandable", sigh!

But perhaps a new word for companies that do not provide proper service.."understable", lol.

Happy New Year to all of you in Australia and New Zealand. I hope 2007 treats you well!

I just got back from Australia and my cell phone worked fine. I dialed 0011 to get out of Australia and dialed 1, the area code and phone number. Reception was better than here in Florida. I have Cingular service.

Wally, were you zinged badly for roaming charges? What kind of SIM card do you have? We also have cingular so we can use it internationally. Did you use it within Australia? If so, what were the charges typically?
Thanks!
Sally in Seattle

Depends upon which cell carrier you're using here. T-Mobile (which I use) has tri-band phones which we used while in Europe--we just had to call them and ask them to "turn on" the international capability. Check with your current carrier before you think about buying a cell phone or SIM card overseas.