pre-paid foreign SIM cards for international travel
Hey everybody. I'm headed to Singapore later in the summer for about 10 days for a conference. My wife will be coming with me but will be shopping/touristing instead of attending the conference.
My concern is being able to keep in touch through our cell phones. I have the impression that it's significantly cheaper to find a specialized pre-paid or flat-rate SIM card specifically for the country we'll be in instead of going through our domestic carrier. Can any regular travelers confirm that this is a good plan (and point out where to find/buy such SIM cards) or suggest another?
We will be signing up with Tmobile or AT&T in the next few weeks so we'll have SIM-card compatible phones.
gtnissanfan is on the front lines, building a Kritzcharge
One piece of advice you should ask about: when you sign up with a certain company to have the subsidized phone, they (in my country) usually lock it only to be used with their own SIM cards only. So just get it unlocked before travelling abroad, it should be cheap and easy.
You can't take the sky from me.
Thanks for the reminder-- that's definitely something I will ask about before I sign a contract. I've heard that some places require you to pay your bill for a few months first, but if I can't get it unlocked immediately, I have no reason to switch providers.
gtnissanfan is on the front lines, building a Kritzcharge
Buy a pay-as-you-go Sing-Tel SIM card locally. That's what I did when I was in Singapore. Right at the airport, you can buy them at newsstands and currency exchange booths. The tariffs are quite cheap, incoming calls are free, and you get a bucket of free minutes when you pay for the SIM.
Xbox Live tag Gorilla800lbs
Isn't this Will Wright's next game?
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Listen to the man, he speaks the truth.
As Gor says, over here we have pre-paid stored value SIM cards from our three telcos, Singtel being the major player (think of them as AT&T). I believe they go for S$28 a piece ( or US$20.40 each). You can find details of these pre-paid cards here.
So get two cards, note down the mobile numbers clearly printed on them, slot them into your phones SIM connectors and off you go.
If you need to add additional value to the SIM cards, you can get them at our version of convenience stores called Seven-Eleven. Just ask the friendly clerk as the top up cards are usually kept behind the counter. They might even help transfer the value to your SIM for you, if they are not too busy.
So GT, what conference will you be visiting my country nation state for?
If you have any questions, I'll be happy to help answer, and I'm sure Gorilla800lbs would be willing to share his experiences from his visit.
Could you bring some of those xkcd t-shirts? I've been meaning to get some but shipping rates are killer...
oh and Lobster....isn't Your Mom Will Wright's next game?
Age of Conan - Deathwhisper - Falaina/25/Conq
The official title is "SimLobster's Mom."
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Thanks for the link, Falchion, that's exactly what I was looking for.
gtnissanfan is on the front lines, building a Kritzcharge
Not a problem. What else would you like to know?
Ask about the food. We love food over here.
Ever try Durian fruit?
Age of Conan - Deathwhisper - Falaina/25/Conq
Durian fruit-- is that comparable to any "American" fruits?
And on topic, Singapore uses GSM 900/1800 right? We have 7-11 convenience stores here too. I was used to seeing them as gas stations in the South, but here in California, they're often stand-alone stores with no gas. I thought it was very strange at first.
gtnissanfan is on the front lines, building a Kritzcharge
nope. there is nothing quite like it in the world. Over here it's called the King of Fruits mainly because it looks and tastes like a real badass of a fruit. Check out a picture here. In all honestly, I've been raised in this region all my life, and yet I can't stand to eat it myself. The rest of my family just loves it though.
Yep. We use GSM 900/1800. Just try to get a quad-band phone. They are very wide spread now and will work almost anywhere in the world. Yep 7-11 is usually stand-alone here as well. They can be found in some gas stations too from time to time.
Age of Conan - Deathwhisper - Falaina/25/Conq
Just wanted to add some photos of Singapore to rise some interest:
Part of the Singapore waterfront at night
Skyscrapers near Clarke Quay
Mouth of the Singapore River
Sunset at Sentosa Island
Singapore Airport Terminal 3
Food - Chili Crab - a Singapore classic
Typical Singaporean girl catching a typical Singaporean taxi cab
Age of Conan - Deathwhisper - Falaina/25/Conq
I just thought of another question-- Are pre-paid phones available to use with the pre-paid SIM cards? It turns out that I might not sign a new contract before my trip and will need to pick up a cheap phone. From what I can find, they're available, but I can't seem to locate a website that says what the prices will be. I know there are lots of options for pre-paid (i.e. cheap) phones in the US, but it's not clear if any of them are available with GSM 900/1800 networks.
gtnissanfan is on the front lines, building a Kritzcharge
Get them on the web. Depending what coast you are closer to, go with either Plemix.com (west), or ExoticPhone.com and MobileCityOnline.com (east). Any cheap-o thee- or quad-band phone will do.
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