1. karatuz
   Member

   G'day!

   I am travelling to New Zealand and Australia for 2 weeks and would like to have a cell phone.

   I can buy one from the states for about $150 - $200 US and then a $2/min rate.

   I was wondering if it is easy enough (and cheaper) to just pick up a pre paid phone when I arrive in Auckland and use it through NZ and AU and then just discard it when I depart from Sydney at the end of my trip?

   Thanks!

   Posted 1 year ago #

2. erupon
   Member

   Hi

   Definitely wouldn't buy one before leaving for Australia. You probably also will run into problems because the networks in Australia and the US are different and unless you buy a triband phone, it most likely won't work.

   A USD 2 per minute rate should be quite easy to beat, even off a prepaid phone like Manzy mentions. There are always great deals in this area with Vodafone, Telstra etc.

   If you really want cheap, you should consider a prepaid phone card to use in a phone booth. Rates start at Australian dollar cents 5 per minute!

   Posted 1 year ago #

3. judd
   Member

   Hi I have another mobile phone question - I have a triband phone here in the UK.
   Will I be able to use it in Oz/NZ if I buy I pay as you go sim card over there?
   Thank you

   Posted 1 year ago #

4. werbot
   Member

   well youve left it a bit late mate
   phone subsidies have just been withdrawn here
   you used to be able to get a $99prepaid deal which gave you a phone plus up to $50 credit but now you have to pay full price for a phone
   i dont know how you would go getting on a plan here or even a prepaid as you have to provide id to get one but i can find out if you want

   Posted 1 year ago #

5. sertol
   Member

   yes there is a esier way for having a cell phoen or they call it "mobile" here.. Go to a telstra store and pick up a samsung phone.. its blue and it is 129.00 but you get $100 calls included. So the phone is pretty much 29$ but they charge 70 cents per min. here and you wont find it any cheaper then that to call around oz. Its actually cheaper to call canada then australia but im not sure about the usa. so either go to a telstra shop or the internet or even any little stores (places that sell elctronics.. thats where i found mine) and you'll find it there.. Good luck.. i know it took me a while....

   Posted 1 year ago #

6. dodoko
   Member

   Would really appreciate anything you can find out, will be there for about 6 months and should have friends in various other points of the country so a mobile would be really handy
   Thanks!

   Posted 1 year ago #

7. lokis
   Member

   Hi,

   ok i found out a few things about mobile phones for visitors
   the phone companies will try and talk you into bringing your own phone and nominate the country you are going to and use international roaming
   how this works is ,your phone company your with at the moment will use an australian phone company as a host(probably telstra) and all your calls would be billed through them and sent to your normal phone account
   the only problem with this is that teltra is under investigation for charging 10 times normal price and also charging the same price for receiving calls so what ever you do dont bring your phone with you
   you also wont have much joy trying to sign up for a phone here and even to get a prepaid you have to provide id and place of residence proof
   i think the best thing to do is to get someone to buy a prepaid for you,once you have one you can buy a top up card just about anywhere
   if you need someone to organise a phone for you just let me know
   see ya

   Posted 1 year ago #

8. fofon
   Member

   Hi,

   I think if you take your phone with you it shouldn't be a problem. It will definitely work there if that is what you were wondering. One thing you need to check before leaving is whether it has a sim lock on it which won't allow you putting in a new one. If it doesn't, it used to be the case that you could buy 30 dollar (aud) sim cards that also had 20 dollars of calling credit on them which you can just use as you go... it was a separate deal to the phone + sim card deal aussieguy mentions but as he mentions things have changed, maybe that changed too.... I wouldn't think so though; the subsidies were on the phones, not on the cards. I think all the phone companies would love to have a new member buying their prepaid cards :)

   You can't (never used to be) get a complete membership plan though, you need proof of a fixed address there and id (probably to prove you are australian or have some type of visa which will let you stay more than a year).

   Posted 1 year ago #

9. dodoko
   Member

   Thanx alot for that guys, I should be living and working in Sydney for a month or more so hopefully will have an address, so should be able to get something sorted
   Thanks again!

   Posted 1 year ago #

10. torinto
    Member

    So, I'm understanding, I think, that I can bring me cell phone
    and buy a pre-paid SIM card in New Zealand, is this correct?
    Where in Auckland can I buy a card and how much (approx. NZ$)???

    Posted 1 year ago #

11. bodor
    Member

    Hi . . . .is the advice in this thread still current? I guess it is but thought I would still check . . .

    Posted 1 year ago #

12. lokis
    Member

    Yes, as far as I know, you can still quite easily (and cheaply - about 30 Australian dollars) buy a SIM card which will work in your phone if it is GSM and not SIM locked (you should be able to have that removed before leaving your home country).

    For people from the Americas, it should also work this way only you will need to have a tri band phone in order to make sure you can hook up with the frequency used in Australia (and most of the world actually).

    Not sure if you can still buy the cheap prepaid handsets that they used to have....

    Posted 1 year ago #

13. santada
    Member

    Hey,

    Just to be safe, it's prob best to get a new phone down here. There are heaps of cheapies going at second hand shops ("cash converters" is the way to go in Aus!) and they'll definately work here.

    My mate just came from France with her new Nokia and it doesn't work at all here which is pretty annoying for her as she forked out a heap for it!

    Hope this helps! :)

    Posted 1 year ago #

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