>> 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
>

[snip]

>
> 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

[snip]

> 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.

Bad news from Telstra. Looks like she'll have to get credit checked to get
NextG:

"Dear Ben

Thank you for your email dated 27/2/07, regarding your service.

Ben currently the Next G services is not available as a Pre-Paid option.
Telstra Pre Paid
operates on the GSM network.

Please follow the link for details of Telstra Pre-Paid Plus:
http://www.telstra.com.au/telstraprepaidplus/index.htm

Please follow the link for details of Telstra Pre-Paid Call Rates:
http://www.telstra.com.au/telstrapre...ates/index.htm

Please follow the link for details of Telstra Pre-Paid International Call
Rates:
http://www.telstra.com.au/telstraprepaidplus/callrates/international.htm"

Benedict.