Contacting family at home

Anthony1993

so im going to oz monday and i have skype and all them but just wondering whats the best way to contact home like i want to be able to ring and text them when ive no internet, so is there any network or deals in OZ i can go on where it wont cost me much, or if i went with vodafone and signed up to free calls to vodafone would that work aswel or whats the cheapest way to do it

seachto7

I think my cousin in Melbourne was telling me only a few months back about a deal he had where it worked out cheap to make calls to Ireland. I can't for the life of me remember what network or package it was!

hitbit

Anyone any idea what speed broadband you need for sky to work to a tablet,

Thanks

hitbit

bladebrew

I was using an Amaysim SIM card, calls back to a landline in Ireland are 15 cent a minute, I wasn't in Australia too long but it worked out for me, I was trying to use Viber but without a good connection it will drive you nuts!

I mainly went with them for the data because other networks offer feck all data, but if that's not that important take a look at Telstra and Optus as they are meant to have way better coverage than Amaysim,

AngryHippie

a 3G connection is usually enough for Skype and Viber.
I use both for calling home, but I buy Skype credit, as it works out 3c /min to call a landline back home, and it means the folks don't have to worry about their connections etc.

I've got TPG wifi in Bris, and am on Telstra, I've never had any issues with the connection , but it's a work phone, so I've got data pooling and 4G.

As far as working off a mobile only, Telstra usually has good speeds, coverage and connections, whereas amaysim, and the rest are working off the Telstra network for the most part, and will be at the back of the bus when it comes to speed and priority.
It's a shame as Telstra are more expensive for everything, and their customer service can be very ordinary even on a good day.

Shop around, look at the different packages, I'll be sticking with Telstra from now on, but It's much of a muchness between the others.

Batgurl

Vodafone offer a $30 (or $35) per month package that allows free text messages worldwide. You also get $500 recharge but only 1Gb of data. You can buy a 1Gb add-on for $5 though.

I just have my phone set to connect to Wifi at home and work so I rarely use my data anyway.

Anthony1993

Batgurl wrote: »

Vodafone offer a $30 (or $35) per month package that allows free text messages worldwide. You also get $500 recharge but only 1Gb of data. You can buy a 1Gb add-on for $5 though.

I just have my phone set to connect to Wifi at home and work so I rarely use my data anyway.

what is recharge, i see it on all the OZ mobile network websites??

AngryHippie

As far as I could ever figure out:
The pre-pay packages generally sell you a $value worth of credit for $30, or $49 or whatever, which will give you a whopping:rolleyes: $500 worth of credit, but then the rate on calls is ridiculous which means that the $500 worth of credit ends up being worth about 15-20 minutes on an international call.

It's a bit of a racket to prevent anyone using pre-pay knowing how much a call is really costing them in their pocket.

i.e. for $30, you get $500 credit call is $6.25 per minute (from credit)
actual call rate is $.375 /minute.

There could be free sms and/or Free same network mobile calls as part of the package, or a flat rate for national calls, they all put together different trappings.


Good Luck with it

SupraSonic_26

Im back few mon ths i was with vodafone they do a deal cant remeber how much but i got $500 international calls a month and it did me fine

Legend100

Anthony1993 wrote: »

what is recharge, i see it on all the OZ mobile network websites??

recharge is for pre-pay but works a bit different to at home (well it does with vodafone - not sure abou the other networks)

when you buy $30 of credit (i.e recharge) that credit only lasts for the month, it does not carry forward if unused like at home so not the same as topping up

if you get $500 of credit for $30 and have say $100 left at the end of the month, you lose this credit and have to recharge again

baldshin

+1 for Amaysim. I'm on the $39.90 a month plan which gives unlimited callsa dn texts to Oz numbers plus 4gb data which I use for Skype, vibes, whatsapp etc. if you add another $10 credit that will give you a decent amount of minutes to phone home.

catbear

Use optus prepay, $26 for 45 days, have made viber calls with good connection.

captainbirdseye

http://www.lebara.com.au/unlimited

aido79

I use Boost. It uses the Telstra network and I've had no problems with it. I work fifo so need to be on the Telstra network. $40 gets you unlimited calls and texts within Australia and 2Gb of data. You would need to get an extra package to make international calls and texts but I use Skype and viber for that anyway as it works out cheaper.

hitbit

Thanks for the replies/advice people. very helpful.

hitbit

woolymammoth

OP, if you have skype already, i encourage you to re-visit the actual website and look over their feature list, specifically Skype To Go. Assuming you have skype credit, you can register an international number with skype and they give you a local [aussie] number that you dial from any phone (not sure about sms..). You can set it up that caller ID in ireland shows your aussie mobile number. Then, you only have to worry about which network gives you the best local deals here in aus, since not all do international calls..

I guess it depends on how much you want to call home though, where you are, and how often you'll have internet access available..

bladebrew

Watch out for an offer from Optus, they have an international calls included package, but Ireland is not on the list, the UK is though, even the Optus staff were surprised when my OH asked them to check which countries were included!

woolymammoth

bladebrew wrote: »

Watch out for an offer from Optus, they have an international calls included package, but Ireland is not on the list, the UK is though, even the Optus staff were surprised when my OH asked them to check which countries were included!

Virgin mobile do include Ireland on international calls (post-pay for me anyway). They are an mvno and piggy back on the optus network. Not the cheapest calls, but they've been very reliable to me, get a bucket load of credit + data (for an Aussie network), plus I only call home infrequently.