[LouH]

Hi

I've just moved to Causeway Bay from London, UK and wanted to know how you go about getting a mobile, do you have to get a contract and if so what's the best network and where are the best places to go to get set up?

All feedback greatly appreciated :-)

Thank you

Lou

[AnotherAmerican]

There is a great system in China and Hong Kong that eliminates the need to be bound by a contract. You simply buy an (unlocked) phone, buy a SIM card, which the price is nothing more than how much money starts on the account (in other words, the base price for the phone number is free), and when the initial amount is depleted, you go to your local 7-11/phone company store and buy a refill coupon and enter the code. Pay as you go; but unlike the few services like this in the US and perhaps UK, the service is actually priced very failry compared to pay/month system.

as for services:

Prepaid Sim Cards in HK

[LouH]

Thanks that's great, I'll go and check it out!

[Clay]

Any Preference on the best company to go with? I'm with Smartone now, any better ones? I'd prefer one with good international (US) rates. (for prepaid)

[tesse]

I'm using New World Mobility right now, and the rate is $0.23 per minute to the UK, US, Canada etc

go to www.nwmobility.com, click on English, then click Product & Services, you can then find IDD service. There're 2 choices: IDD 001& IDD1678. The latter one is much cheaper.

Hope it helps

[Katanga]

I actually use IDD1507 and the cost per minute to the UK is $0.08 per minute !!!! That is cheap.

Simply call 1507 and someone answers the phone, you register your mobile no., give them your address and you are up and running within 2hrs. You can register more than 1 mobile to use.

Only bizzare thing is that it costs a lot more if you use a land line (I think something like $0.29 per min)

[tesse]

Wow Katanga, just 8 cents per minute to the UK? What a deal !! Wish I'd found that out earlier

[wing]

Can I get 8 cents per minute to US ? Where ? Thx.

[Katanga]

Tesse/Wing

I kid you not...8cts a min is all I pay for calls to the UK. I thought there was a catch but when I receieved my first bill with nearly 200minutes of calls to the UK and the bill was for like HKD11.00 or so I was well chuffed !

No crap about peak and off peak !

I don't think the quality is bad. Sometimes you find that you cannot get through but at 8cts I am not bothered if I have to try 30mins later.

I only call the UK and Dubai so no idea about rates to the US but I would think they are cheap too.

Give it a shot and call them on 1507.

Ungawa

[PDLM]

IDD calling is essentially independent of who you get your mobile SIM from. You can register any caller ID against IDD accounts.