On Tue, 27 Feb 2007 14:58:58 GMT, "Benedict Addis" <news@theale.uk> wrote:
>> Hi
>> my daughter is going to Australia for a year and I want to get her a new
>> phone and contract that will provide for economical communication between
>> the UK and Down-Under. A non-flashy phone with email capabilities is the
>> basis I'm searching on at the moment. Please can anyone offer some advice?
>>
>> Kind regards,
>>
>> --
>> Lila Duncan
>
>I've recently returned from a month in Oz and, due to the enormous size of
>the place, the advice I'd give is different than for other countries.
>Elsewhere, I'd suggest taking a normal (GSM) phone - remembering to get it
>unlocked first - and buy a local SIM card to put in it; there's no sense in
>your daughter using a UK contract abroad, because of the unbelievably
>expensive roaming rates *.
>
>But in Australia, a standard GSM phone will not work outside the major towns
>and tourist destinations. She will be effectively out of touch whilst
>travelling by road, or if she goes beyond the east coast tourist trail to
>visit the outback, the Northern Territory, or Western Australia.
>
>I drove up the west coast, and had practically no GSM signal once I left
>Perth. On the way back down, I picked up some hitchhikers who were delighted
>when their phones started beeping with text messages - they hadn't had any
>signal for four months!
>
>The good news is that the national operator Telstra have an old-fashioned
>CDMA network that covers almost every small town and settlement in
>Australia. This was upgraded last October to a brand new 3G network they
>call NextG (for the techies, it's HSDPA on 850MHz W-CDMA). Coverage maps are
>here:
>http://www.telstra.com.au/mobile/net...erage/maps.cfm
>
>There are several phones available that work on this NextG network, there's
>a list here:
>www.telstra.com.au/nextgnetwork/mobiles.cfm
>
>I used the Imate Jasjam which worked well, especially for email. This phone
>is widely available in the UK as the Orange m3100, the HTC Tytn, the
>T-mobile Vario 2 etc - they're all the same thing. You can buy one at
>Expansys or on eBay, they're not cheap but it's the only way to stay in
>contact in more remote destinations.
>
>The only snag is that Telstra may want to credit check her before handing
>out a NextG SIM card. I was able to get credit checked at my hostel address,
>and got a one-month rolling 'contract' with no ties. I've emailed them to
>find out if they can supply NextG SIM cards on a pay as you go basis, and
>I'll let the group know what they say.
>
>Hope this helps!
>
>Benedict.
>
>*
>Two exceptions are Vodafone and Three, who have deals with their Australian
>sister networks - links below. However, the coverage - especially for
>Three - is limited to larger towns and cities.
>
>Vodafone Passport:
>http://www.abroad.vodafone.co.uk/ind...=cost.passport
>
>Three Like Home:
>http://three.co.uk/personal/coverage...me_details.omp
>
That's tremendously helpful information. It's certainly narrowed the field
significantly. I'm off to ebay now, looking for an Imate Jasjam or
equivalent, since NextG seems the obvious choice for our circumstances.
Thanks a lot,
--
Lila Duncan