Stay in Touch - Mobiles SIM Cards

Australia has a modern telecommunications system with mobile and internet access available at affordable rates. There are public payphones available at all Post Offices, shopping centres, airports, railway stations, and are often situated on street corners. The public payphones in Australia accept a variety of coins and phonecards, and are colour coded - red ones solely for local calls, while green, gold and blue for international calls). There are some public payphones, usually found at international and domestic airports, central city locations and hotels that accept credit cards like American Express, Visa, MasterCard and Diners International. The cost of a local call is $0.50 AUD UNTIMED, while international and STD (interstate and country areas) calls and calls to mobile phones are TIMED and charged by the minute.

The cheapest option for making international and STD calls is to use a prepaid Calling Card, which can be purchased at a large number of retail outlets in A$5, A$10, A$20 and A$50 credits, and can be topped-up. Calling Cards are offered by various companies, and they each offer different calling rates for different countries. Students should speak to their peers to find out which companies provide the best rates for the students' home country.

To make an international call, dial the following:

• International direct dialing code 0011 (take care when dialing, as 000 is used as the emergency services number).

• Country code (if unsure of your home country's code, call 1225 for information, or visit http://www.thelist.com/countrycode.html.)

• The area code for your city, omitting the zero in front.

• The telephone number.

For example, to call France with a country code of 33, you would dial: 0011 + 33 + Area Code + Telephone number Remember when using a calling card, you must dial the calling card company's number and then follow their prompts before dialing home.

Families and friends from home will want to ring you from time to time, and may not know the dialing process involved. To call Australia from another country, dial the following:

• The international direct dialing code of your home country (if unsure, visit http://www.kropla.com/dialcode.htm)

• Australia's international country code 61

• The area code omitting the zero in front.

• The telephone number

• For example, calling Australia from India with an international direct dialing code 00, dial: 00 + 61 + Area Code + telephone number

Interstate calls (eg. Brisbane to Sydney) are STD calls, which are direct-dial long distance calls within Australia, and are timed and charged by the second according to the distance, time of day and day of the week, plus a call connection fee.

Australia usually has ten digits - two for the area code and eight for the telephone number. For example, a Brisbane number might look like this: (07) 3221 7871. If students wish to call interstate, they need to include the area code with the telephone number.

• Economy - cheapest to use

• Afternoon/Day - most expensive to use

Australia's mobile phone bandwidth is 900MHz and 1800MHz GSM. Students wishing to take their locally-connected mobile phone with them to Australia should check with their provider or instruction manual to determine if their phone can operate on these bands. Usually, if the phone is marketed as '˜GSM', '˜tri-band' or '˜quad-band', then it's very likely that the phone will work in Australia. If the locally-connected phone is compatible, there are two options for making and receiving calls in Australia:

1. Use the existing SIM card

2. Buy a new SIM card in Australia

When using an existing SIM card, check that the service operator from home has '˜enabled global roaming', which allow users to use the networks in Australia with that SIM card, but at very high charges. If students wish to purchase a new SIM card in Australia, the phone must be '˜unlocked', which can be performed by the phone manufacturer or a local mobile phone shop. SIM cards can be purchased from service operators like Telstra, Vodafone, Optus and Virgin Mobile, and cost around $20-$30 AUD. Students need to check carefully which regions the telecom operator cover before purchasing the SIM card, as some, like Vodafone SIM cards, do not cover rural areas north of Perth in Western Australia, while Telstra provides better coverage in this region.

Note that in Australia, the person initiating a call involving a mobile phone pays for the airtime. Students can identify a mobile phone caller, as the phone number starts with 04.

If students don't already have a mobile phone and want to purchase one in Australia, there is a wide selection of telecommunication companies offering mobile phone plans with different network providers. Each plan has its own advantages and disadvantages. It is suggested that students talk to their peers about their experiences on deals, rates or plans, and read all terms and conditions carefully.

It is strongly advised that students on a strict budget get a pre-paid mobile phone as this will enable students to easily monitor and control their spending. A pre-paid mobile phone plan has the advantages of:

• No monthly access fees

• No bills

• Up-front payment

• No fixed-term contracts

• No commitments

Mobile phones can also be rented from providers like Vodafone Rental and Landwide. Generally, it's less expensive to rent a phone for short stays, and purchase a prepaid (pay-as-you-go) phone for longer stays.

There are several telephone service providers in Australia that can provide students with current details of land line phone connection costs, phone rates and internet services. Here is a list of some of the more well known companies:

• Telstra: Tel: 13 22 00 www.telstra.com.au

• Optus: Tel: 13 3900 www.optus.com.au

• AAPT: Tel: 135 005 www.aapt.com.au

• Westnet: Tel: 13 19 60 www.westnet.com.au

• Primus Telecom: Tel: 1300 85 00 00

STD and international calls are itemised on each telephone bill, which lists:

• each call;

• the telephone number and area called;

• the duration of the call; and

• the total cost of each call.

This makes it easier to check if STD or international calls have been made. Students should check with their phone provider for special international call rates, as it is very easy to make several hundred dollars worth of international calls within a short period of time. Alternately, the best option as mentioned before, is to get a calling card, which allow users to make calls from any phones for as little as 1c per minute, depending on the country.

To get more information about the cost of a call to your home country, the country code, current time, etc, refer to the telephone numbers below.

• Local/National Directory Assistance 12455

• Service for assistance with finding a telephone number in Australia. Please provide the operator with the name and address of the person or business you wish to contact.

• International Directory Assistance 1225

• Telstra Call Connect 12456

• Can be made from any telephone in Australia;

• Cost 50c from public payphones and are UNTIMED;

• Cost 17.5c to 30c from private telephones and are UNTIMED; and

• Are timed to local mobile phone, and charged at a higher rate.

The emergency services (police, fire, and ambulance) number in Australia (equivalent to 911 in North America), is 000 (Zero-Zero-Zero). It is a 24-hour service, and is free to call. When ringing this service, remember to state the service required and to give the location of the emergency service(s) needed.

There are two kinds of telephone books in Australia:

• The White Pages - provides an alphabetical listing of telephone numbers and lists area codes, telephone rates and postcodes for all towns and cities in Australia. It also lists all Federal and state government departments. The online service can be found at www.whitepages.com.au

• The Yellow Pages - lists business telephone numbers according to the type of service provided. You can easily look it up at www.yellowpages.com.au

Most telephone service providers are also internet service providers (ISPs). There are also many local ISPs available, and they normally provide better rates. Students should talk to their peers to find out which companies offer the best deals. Visit www.topology.org/net/isp.html for a comprehensive list of ISPs operating in Australia.