Boyfriend is going to Russia and China

My partner will be travelling for a fortnight, later this month. We
currently have Orange PAYG phones which will only do text there
according to the Orange website.

Will we need to get a phone on a contract to enable speech calls while
he's away?
We don't use our phones much but I want him to be able to contact me if
he's in trouble.

What phone, network and contract would you suggest?

--
Helen D. Vecht: helenvecht@zetnet.co.uk
Edgware.

On 2008-07-05, Helen Deborah Vecht <helenvecht@zetnet.co.uk> wrote:
> My partner will be travelling for a fortnight, later this month. We
> currently have Orange PAYG phones which will only do text there
> according to the Orange website.
>
> Will we need to get a phone on a contract to enable speech calls while
> he's away?
> We don't use our phones much but I want him to be able to contact me if
> he's in trouble.
>
> What phone, network and contract would you suggest?

Rather than buying a contract you might consider a global roaming
PAYG SIM. I'm familiar with these (others might be able to recommend
something else):

http://www.celtrek.com
http://www.maxroam.com

I have a Celtrek SIM (they are US-based, but can equip the SIM with
a UK landline incoming number if you ask) and it has been reliable
where I've used it. I have several friends who have Maxroam SIMs
and who are happy with them as well. The prices for service are
generally better than you'll get roaming with a UK contract SIM and
there's no need to commit to a contract. A UK phone should work
in both Russia and China, though the phone will need to be unlocked
for these SIMs to work.

If he might want to use the phone more frequently, local prepaid
service is easy to get and quite cheap in China (I've not been
to Russia) once he gets there; the only suggestion I'd have for
that is to buy a China Mobile SIM, since I've had trouble buying
top ups for China Unicom outside the SIM's home area. Even if
he wanted to try this, however, buying a global roaming SIM like
the ones above, making sure it works before he leaves the UK and
carrying it along as a fallback is maybe a useful idea in any
case.

Dennis Ferguson

Helen Deborah Vecht <helenvecht@zetnet.co.uk> wrote:
> My partner will be travelling for a fortnight, later this month. We
> currently have Orange PAYG phones which will only do text there
> according to the Orange website.
>
> Will we need to get a phone on a contract to enable speech calls while
> he's away?
> We don't use our phones much but I want him to be able to contact me if
> he's in trouble.
>
> What phone, network and contract would you suggest?

How about local SIMs? Start here:
http://www.prepaidgsm.net/en/operators.html

You could also try an international roaming SIM. Not as cheap, but should
work anywhere:
http://www.prepaidgsm.net/en/international.html

For a UK network, try Virgin Direct Debit. You just get a Virgin PAYG SIM
which you can convert to a Direct Debit payment option on their website.
You might need to enable it for roaming too. Then it's like a virtual
contract - you only pay for the calls you use. Don't lose it though! Calls
may well be more expensive than the international roaming SIMs (we're in 1
pound/minute territory here), but you don't have to worry about running out
of credit.

Theo

On 6 Jul, 00:11, Theo Markettos <theom+n...@chiark.greenend.org.uk>
wrote:
> Helen Deborah Vecht <helenve...@zetnet.co.uk> wrote:
>
> > My partner will be travelling for a fortnight, later this month. We
> > currently have Orange PAYG phones which will only do text there
> > according to the Orange website.
>
> > Will we need to get a phone on a contract to enable speech calls while
> > he's away?
> > We don't use our phones much but I want him to be able to contact me if
> > he's in trouble.
>
> > What phone, network and contract would you suggest?
>
> How about local SIMs? *Start here:http://www.prepaidgsm.net/en/operators.html
>
> You could also try an international roaming SIM. *Not as cheap, but should
> work anywhere:http://www.prepaidgsm.net/en/international.html
>
> For a UK network, try Virgin Direct Debit. *You just get a Virgin PAYG SIM
> which you can convert to a Direct Debit payment option on their website.
> You might need to enable it for roaming too. *Then it's like a virtual
> contract - you only pay for the calls you use. *Don't lose it though! *Calls
> may well be more expensive than the international roaming SIMs (we're in 1
> pound/minute territory here), but you don't have to worry about running out
> of credit.
>
> Theo

Vodafone pay as you go should work for both texts and voice calls in
both China and Russia although the cost is high.
To make a call you may not be able to dial directly. If not you'll
need to call *#123*0044......#. Press the call button and "requesting"
or a simular message will appear. After a few seconds the
international service will ring you back; when you answer the call
you'll be connected to the number you wanted.

You can get a Vodafone SIM card free at
http://shop.vodafone.co.uk/mobile-ph...y-as-you-talk/

<newsaccount@mail2web.com> wrote in message
news:621f7160-d77b-45c2-b3d2-1fd495e00b2f@z66g2000hsc.googlegroups.com...
On 6 Jul, 00:11, Theo Markettos <theom+n...@chiark.greenend.org.uk>
wrote:
> Helen Deborah Vecht <helenve...@zetnet.co.uk> wrote:
<snip>
>> For a UK network, try Virgin Direct Debit. You just get a Virgin PAYG SIM
>> which you can convert to a Direct Debit payment option on their website.
>> You might need to enable it for roaming too. Then it's like a virtual
>> contract - you only pay for the calls you use. Don't lose it though!
>> Calls
>> may well be more expensive than the international roaming SIMs (we're in
>> 1
>> pound/minute territory here), but you don't have to worry about running
>> out
>> of credit.
>> Theo
>
>Vodafone pay as you go should work for both texts and voice calls in
>both China and Russia although the cost is high.
>To make a call you may not be able to dial directly. If not you'll
>need to call *#123*0044......#. Press the call button and "requesting"
>or a simular message will appear. After a few seconds the
>international service will ring you back; when you answer the call
>you'll be connected to the number you wanted.
>
What a palaver, much easier adding Direct Debit to a Virgin sim
to get full roaming

Steve Terry