Australia, New Zealand & the South Pacific - Telecommunications in Australia

Not sure if you all would be able to give advice on this - I either wanted to get a prepaid phone card or a prepaid cell phone (if it's not too expensive) when I visit Australia.

I looked online for phone cards and the various vendors /plans are overwhelming. Is there a phone card that is more popular in Australia over the others? Of course, I'm assuming there are still phone booths in most cities.

Not sure if you all would be able to give advice on this - I either wanted to get a prepaid phone card or a prepaid cell phone (if it's not too expensive) when I visit Australia.

I looked online for phone cards and the various vendors /plans are overwhelming. Is there a phone card that is more popular in Australia over the others? Of course, I'm assuming there are still phone booths in most cities.

your cell phone should work on roaming, but of course it is quite expensive. I don't know how many calls you plan to make, or what type you plan to make while you are here (local, over seas, ect). I'd just rock up to any post office or news agent and buy a telstra phone card. I don't know the pricing scheme, but for making short calls around australia it shouldn't be too expensive. Also you could bring a 20$ or so phone card from your home that would have international access codes for either various countries.

I think a prepaid phone would cost ya up to 100 AUD and then 20-30 dollars for a month to make local calls.

Whilst a phone card is readily available in many stores including Australia Post the availability of phone boxes is somewhat limited. You may therefore prefer the freedom of using a cell (mobile) phone.

There are three main mobile phone prividers in Australia; Telstra, Optus and Vodafone. Each have their merits. If you already have a mobile phone you can buy an Australian Sim Card, and use pre pay credits in it. Depending on time and usage you could get a capped plan that allows a certain amount of calls for a fixed amount per month. The cheapest of these is $29 per month.
The Sim card should be cheap, a Vodafone one will cost you $2 at Woolworths supermarkets.

You will need ID to get a Sim card.

The latest K Mart catalogue shows various cheap pre paid phones.
The cheapest Optus one is $59.
The cheapest Telstra one is $59.
The cheapest Vodafone one is $69.

Hope this helps.

First off congratulations on picking Oz for a vacation destination. It’s an amazing country with friendly people.

There are quite a few options for telephone service but I was wondering if the OP could provide a little more information on what she (gender assumed from the Karen part of the nick) was looking to accomplish. By that I mean:

1) Which country will you be looking to call from Oz?
2) Will you be taking a laptop and is VoIP (Skype, MagicJack, etc.) an option?
3) Will you be making a lot of local calls?
4) Is this a one-time trip? How long?
5) Are you taking your existing cell phone? If so, do you know if it’s unlocked, multiband, GSM?

That said let me mention a few things that work for me. I'm a Yank who travels there pretty often. My primary need is to check and respond to my US voice mails. For that I try to use MagicJack (http://www.magicjack.com/9/index.asp) as much as possible. It’s a pretty cheap widget that plugs into your laptop and gives you US inbound/outbound phone service anywhere in the world where you have broadband internet (IIRC mine cost $30 for the equipment and $25/year for the service). Calls to the US are free and people at home can call me in Oz by dialing a US phone #. Disadvantages are that the laptop must be on to make/receive calls although it does have voicemail if you’re not online.

In addition to VoIP solutions, I’d highly recommend that you sign up with a US prepaid service (assuming you’re from the States too) for making international calls before leaving. I use EnjoyPrepaid (http://www.enjoyprepaid.com/) which lets me call home for about 4.5c/minute with no monthly fees. It’s similar to a prepaid card, but has an automatic top-off you can set and you can use it back home to call your newfound friends in Oz on the cheap.

If you really need cell service, like rick253 said there are many places to purchase a pre-paid phone. In addition to his list there’s also Virgin and ‘3’ networks. You’ll find a bunch of stores in any major shopping mall. If you already have a cell phone that’ll work there you can just pop in to any newsagency and pickup a $30 prepaid sim with gives you an Aussie phone #. In any case I find the prepaid phone/sim pretty expensive. I use Telstra and even local calls run $.75 to $1 a minute. They also expire in 3-9 months so any remaining balance when you leave is lost. One good thing is that texting is very cheap and it’s much more common for Aussies to text each other than it is here.

In any event, unless you need to constantly have a phone at the ready skip the cell and just use the prepaid service to check in once a day. Use the savings to treat yourself to a pie floater!

Assuming your phone supports GSM 900 / 1800 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GSM) (most triband/quadbands), it'll work here as long as it isn't locked to your current SIM card. Try putting another SIM card in your phone from another US network to test this.

If this is the case, may I suggest getting a cheap Vodafone (http://www.vodafone.com.au/personal/plans/prepay/plans/index.htm) or Optus SIM (http://personal.optus.com.au/web/ocaportal.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=Template_woRHS&FP=/personal/mobile/prepaidmobile/callingoffersandrates&site=personal) here in Australia from Dick Smith Electronics (http://search.dse.com.au/search?w=Prepaid+SIM&submit.x=0&submit.y=0&submit=Go), 7-Eleven, Supermarket, or a Petrol Station. These are usually only $2, and then you can buy a small amount of credit (for SMS, etc). Generally credit lasts a year, and then you have another year to recharge before the SIM expires. There is one other cheaper option, iSIM (http://www.isim.com.au), but you need to send a SIM card to Australian Address. The other networks (Telstra and Three Hutchinson) don't seem to have as cheap SIM starter kits.

If you want to make a lot of calls, or call overseas, register with PennyTel (on an Unlimited / Talk To You Drop plan - pick whichever one suits the countries you wish to call (http://www.pennytel.com/call_plans.html)) and use their ANI Callback service. Most calls will only cost 38c+8c=46c (e.g. USA/Australia landline) or 38c+38c=76c (e.g. Australia Mobile). NB, those rates are in AUD and are per call, not per minute. Quality is excellent. Note to get the 38c rates you need to register for the Talk To You Drop plan, which is AUD$5/month, but can be cancelled at anytime.

Basically you ring a number from your mobile in Australia (after 'verifying' your mobile on the Pennytel website), and it rings you back, then you enter the number you want to call. The Pennytel FAQ (http://www.pennytel.com/faqs.html) explains this a bit better.

You can even register a DID (Dial In Number) for most cities in Australia. The service can also be used with multiple ATAs or a SIP client on your mobile / laptop.

There is plenty of discussion about VoIP on the Australian whirlpool forums (http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-threads.cfm?f=107).

NB the ANI callback service is also useful in Singapore, Hong Kong and Malaysia.

And if you're outside those countries and have access to the internet you can use Web Callback to initiate a call.

1) Which country will you be looking to call from Oz?
2) Will you be taking a laptop and is VoIP (Skype, MagicJack, etc.) an option?
3) Will you be making a lot of local calls?
4) Is this a one-time trip? How long?
5) Are you taking your existing cell phone? If so, do you know if it’s unlocked, multiband, GSM?


In addition to VoIP solutions, I’d highly recommend that you sign up with a US prepaid service (assuming you’re from the States too) for making international calls before leaving. I use EnjoyPrepaid (http://www.enjoyprepaid.com/) which lets me call home for about 4.5c/minute with no monthly fees. It’s similar to a prepaid card, but has an automatic top-off you can set and you can use it back home to call your newfound friends in Oz on the cheap.

If you really need cell service, like rick253 said there are many places to purchase a pre-paid phone. In addition to his list there’s also Virgin and ‘3’ networks. You’ll find a bunch of stores in any major shopping mall. If you already have a cell phone that’ll work there you can just pop in to any newsagency and pickup a $30 prepaid sim with gives you an Aussie phone #. In any case I find the prepaid phone/sim pretty expensive. I use Telstra and even local calls run $.75 to $1 a minute. They also expire in 3-9 months so any remaining balance when you leave is lost. One good thing is that texting is very cheap and it’s much more common for Aussies to text each other than it is here.

!

I'll be in Sydney, Cairns, and Gold Coast for a total of 10 days only. I won't be bringing a laptop. My cell works on the GSM 850,900,1800,1900 networks so I think I can get the Australian SIM Card, which would be ideal if I could just pop that in and go. The rates seem a little pricey though - $1/minute? Could I also call back to the USA using the SIM Card?

Maybe I'll get the SIM along with a prepaid phone card to use when I can find a phone booth or am back at the hotel. I probably won't be using the cell that often - I'll mostly need it to confirm tour reservations and so forth. And if our group separates - for coordination purposes. Also if people back in the USA need to reach me.

your cell phone should work on roaming, but of course it is quite expensive. I don't know how many calls you plan to make, or what type you plan to make while you are here (local, over seas, ect). I'd just rock up to any post office or news agent and buy a telstra phone card. I don't know the pricing scheme, but for making short calls around australia it shouldn't be too expensive. Also you could bring a 20$ or so phone card from your home that would have international access codes for either various countries.

I think a prepaid phone would cost ya up to 100 AUD and then 20-30 dollars for a month to make local calls.

It sounds like prepaid phone cards are very convenient to purchase - are they only for making calls within Australia? I'm assuming so if you're suggesting purchasing a phone card in the US for international access?

we use skype for stateside calls, and vodaphone for within australia calls when we're there.

hth

The prepaid sim can be used for making calls (text messages, mms etc) anywhere, the reason people are talking about international cards is that you can use them to get cheaper rates

It might be worth mentioning the call rates only relate to calls you make, there is no charge for calls you receive

[QUOTE=Redcenterflyer;10164125] I'd just rock up to any post office or news agent and buy a telstra phone card. I don't know the pricing scheme, but for making short calls around australia it shouldn't be too expensive. Also you could bring a 20$ or so phone card from your home that would have international access codes for either various countries.

[QUOTE]

What is a news agent? Would these cards be available at the airport for purchase?

Used to be somewhere which sold mainly newpapers, magazines etc, basically replaced/morphed into the typical convenience store (7/11 etc) now but the name has kinda stuck

Almost everyone sells sims/recharges in aus, convenience stores, gas stations, supermarkets, post offices, department stores etc. In the airport there's probably 20 shops you can get them from so if you walk 40 feet in the arrivals hall you'll trip over a couple, the main providers have shops set up right next to where you exit the customs hall so you can't miss them. Prepaid is _much_ bigger in aus than it is in the US, was quite a shock for me when I got to the US that we actually had to hunt around even the mobile phone places to find someone who would do a straight prepaid sim when in aus it's almost a case of ordering 4 beers and a sim at the pub.

Used to be somewhere which sold mainly newpapers, magazines etc, basically replaced/morphed into the typical convenience store (7/11 etc) now but the name has kinda stuck

Almost everyone sells sims/recharges in aus, convenience stores, gas stations, supermarkets, post offices, department stores etc. In the airport there's probably 20 shops you can get them from so if you walk 40 feet in the arrivals hall you'll trip over a couple, the main providers have shops set up right next to where you exit the customs hall so you can't miss them. Prepaid is _much_ bigger in aus than it is in the US, was quite a shock for me when I got to the US that we actually had to hunt around even the mobile phone places to find someone who would do a straight prepaid sim when in aus it's almost a case of ordering 4 beers and a sim at the pub.

I wouldn't even know where to go to get a phone card in the US - I was surprised how everyone is so knowledgeable about them in Australia and how easily they can be acquired. I guess that's good for me!

It might be worth mentioning the call rates only relate to calls you make, there is no charge for calls you receive Yes, we are rather civilised here in that regard.

Dave

Yes, we are rather civilised here in that regard.

Dave

Please be aware of the emphasis.... ;)

Please be aware of the emphasis.... ;) I was aware of that - why should I be charged to receive calls? It is not my choice to receive calls, it is the choice of the caller to call me on a cell phone (of course, the fact that we in Australian have cell phone numbers which are easily distinguishable from landline numbers is a help, but still...)

Some say that in the LOTFAP, you are paying for the convenience of being contactable. I don't buy that at all. I say you are paying for the convenience of being able to contact who you want to contact, hence the better pricing model that we (and most of the rest of the world) have adopted.

Dave

Live and learn...LOTFAP= "Land of the Free and the Paranoid," derogatory term for the U.S.

Unfortunately, the folks on the "better" pricing model may have to get used to the American approach, at least in Europe. Take a look:

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/b727f24e-3b0c-11dd-b1a1-0000779fd2ac.html?nclick_check=1

P.S. Most U.S. plans these days don't charge for the first minute of an incoming call, eliminating the argument that the receiver didn't want the call -- if they truly don't want it, they have a minute to figure that out and hang up.

My wife and I will be visiting from the UK for the best part of 3 months...(real tourists!) I am bringing my Vodafone contract phone with me as in Oz I can use my paid for monthly 'free' minutes to call back home together with a flat rate charge of 75p. In my case 1200 mins per month, unlimited texts. My wife will be bringing her '3' phone, as again, she has 750 'free' minutes per month which also applies to Oz....seems the best way for us....unless I've missed a trick ?

I looked into prepaid sims for my trip to Australia next year

If you are arriving in Oz at sydney airport there is a Vodafone store in the airport itself. You can buy a prepay sim which will include credit

http://store.vodafone.com.au/mobile-phones-plan-only-20-365-days-plan.aspx

My wife and I will be visiting from the UK for the best part of 3 months...(real tourists!) I am bringing my Vodafone contract phone with me as in Oz I can use my paid for monthly 'free' minutes to call back home together with a flat rate charge of 75p. In my case 1200 mins per month, unlimited texts. My wife will be bringing her '3' phone, as again, she has 750 'free' minutes per month which also applies to Oz....seems the best way for us....unless I've missed a trick ?

As far as I understand the Vodafone passport only applies when you are making calls/texting back to your home country. So it depends on if you plan to make lots of calls to australian numbers when out there.

As far as I understand the Vodafone passport only applies when you are making calls/texting back to your home country. So it depends on if you plan to make lots of calls to australian numbers when out there.

Incorrect it would seem.

Vodafone Passport applies to voice calls made back to the United Kingdom or within the visited country and excludes calls to other countries, premium rate numbers and all data transfers (including text messages).

http://www.abroad.vodafone.co.uk/index.cfm?do=cost.passport&me=a1&nu=1&le=1&sn=s7&tandc=true

Oops.. I had only read the main page not the T & C. Vodafone need to stick that info in the main section.

Is there a place to buy a prepaid SIM card at Sydney airport on arrival? I'm going next week and I will only be there for 6 days, so I'm looking for something relatively cheap.

There's a Vodafone shop right at the Arrival area.

can anyone recommend a wireless broadband option for a 10 month stay?


I'm leaning towards Virgin Broadband... I already got Virgin Mobile pre-paid plan $0.10 a minute and texts, with a $0.35 cent connection fee for the first minute. $25 with 45 day expiration (I don't really call much, but I get a bunch of calls especially international)


thanks

Three 12GB (279 AUD) (http://store.three.com.au/mobilebroadbandprepaid) if you're sticking to the main cities.

The best forum for discussing this is probably whirlpool.net.au (http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-threads.cfm?f=18).

Apparently, the $2 Virgin SIM comes with 300MB of data when you activate mobile broadband.

Thanks for everyones' recommendations. We are making our first Oz trip in June/July. It will be 16 days "in country" visiting MEL, CNS, AYQ, and SYD. I was starting to look into phone service so the suggestions save a lot of research into different companies.

BTW, being a techno-geek there's a caveat at least for Americans taking their GSM phones internationally....first, the phone must be GSM (most cell phone carriers in the US are not, AT&T being the biggest GSM carrier). Second, the frequencies it uses must be the same as the the visited country. Third, the phone must be "unlocked" to utilize SIM cards from other mobile companies. Many handsets in the US are locked to the cell phone company providing your service and other SIM cards will fit in the phone but won't work. There is mention of this in the thread but it's not too prominent.

can anyone recommend a wireless broadband option for a 10 month stay?


I'm leaning towards Virgin Broadband... I already got Virgin Mobile pre-paid plan $0.10 a minute and texts, with a $0.35 cent connection fee for the first minute. $25 with 45 day expiration (I don't really call much, but I get a bunch of calls especially international)


thanks

If you've got appropriate hardware already (or have a phone that you can use as a modem) then you might want to look at exetel, they use the optus network. I regularly get around 2mbps and faster connecting via my N95.

If you need hardware they charge $195 for a USB Key (you can ebay a better deal)..

Rates (per month) are either:
$17.50 1 gbyte
$22.50 2 gbytes
$37.50 5 gbytes
$55.00 8 gbytes

Or $5.00 p/m with no data included but 1.5 cents per MB up to 1gbyte then it jumps to 2.4 cents per MB.

http://www.exetel.com.au/residential-hspa-pricing.php

I just signed up on the $5 per month plan, mainly to use their voip & virtual fax services (which they won't sell stand alone!)

Depending on how much data you plan to use & calling you make you might be best off to ditch virgin and switch to an optus prepaid cap.. I use the $100 cap and get 1gb of data plus an $900 of credit (plus more only to optus) (all of which can be used on intl calls). Credit expires in 30 days, but if you recharge on day 29 you can roll over your balance..

Optus per min rates look massive compared to virgin, but once you do the annoying math and factor in the cap value included, the real cost per min ends up beating virgin on most caps.. And on overseas calls the effective rate blows virgin out of the water!

Good luck

Three 12GB (279 AUD) (http://store.three.com.au/mobilebroadbandprepaid) if you're sticking to the main cities.

The best forum for discussing this is probably whirlpool.net.au (http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-threads.cfm?f=18).

Apparently, the $2 Virgin SIM comes with 300MB of data when you activate mobile broadband.

The three network has some big holes in it. At my house (Paddington) it works great but I'm relatively high here. I have tried using my blackberry as a modem connected to my laptop at some meetings and the speed has fallen off to no better than dial-up. YMMV.

My friend who was in a three blackspot switched to Telstra and has had no problems. Although he is still arguing with three to try and get out of his contract.

Three 12GB (279 AUD) (http://store.three.com.au/mobilebroadbandprepaid) if you're sticking to the main cities.


I went with Three... but I paid more... $129 for the modem + $149 for 12 Gigs of transfer with 1 year expiry... wasted $30 bux

can anyone recommend a wireless broadband option for a 10 month stay?

thanks

So what will you need the internet for? If just basic emails etc then you may be able to get by using free wi fi at places like Mc Donalds or such places.

If you have some large scale downloading then some of the other suggestions posted here may be more appropriate.

Thanks for everyones' recommendations. We are making our first Oz trip in June/July. It will be 16 days "in country" visiting MEL, CNS, AYQ, and SYD. I was starting to look into phone service so the suggestions save a lot of research into different companies.

BTW, being a techno-geek there's a caveat at least for Americans taking their GSM phones internationally....first, the phone must be GSM (most cell phone carriers in the US are not, AT&T being the biggest GSM carrier). Second, the frequencies it uses must be the same as the the visited country. Third, the phone must be "unlocked" to utilize SIM cards from other mobile companies. Many handsets in the US are locked to the cell phone company providing your service and other SIM cards will fit in the phone but won't work. There is mention of this in the thread but it's not too prominent.

I am traveling with the family to Australia for 3 weeks in June/July. When I have traveled with the family overseas before, we have just done without cel phone, but it is very difficult and cumbersom (not to mention those expensive hotel phone rates). I would like to have Australian cel phone service to confirm tours, etc. Are there inexpensive prepaid phones (not just sims) that have a certain amount of prepaid phone/text credit and that can be reloaded with additional $$ if necessary?

I have AT&T phone service and my current phone is not unlocked, so from what I can gather, a prepaid SIM is not an option for me.

I have a couple of older AT&T LG & Samsung phones, but from what I can tell, it would cost me upwards of $20/phone for me to get them unlocked.

I just need a mobile phone to make reservations & confirm hotel/car/tour plans.

Should I buy an unlocked phone when I get to Australia? Where would I buy one? Should I buy an unlocked GSM phone on ebay and bring it with me?

I am just confused.

Thanks,

Onedog

I am traveling with the family to Australia for 3 weeks in June/July. When I have traveled with the family overseas before, we have just done without cel phone, but it is very difficult and cumbersom (not to mention those expensive hotel phone rates). I would like to have Australian cel phone service to confirm tours, etc. Are there inexpensive prepaid phones (not just sims) that have a certain amount of prepaid phone/text credit and that can be reloaded with additional $$ if necessary?

I have AT&T phone service and my current phone is not unlocked, so from what I can gather, a prepaid SIM is not an option for me.

I have a couple of older AT&T LG & Samsung phones, but from what I can tell, it would cost me upwards of $20/phone for me to get them unlocked.

I just need a mobile phone to make reservations & confirm hotel/car/tour plans.

Should I buy an unlocked phone when I get to Australia? Where would I buy one? Should I buy an unlocked GSM phone on ebay and bring it with me?

I am just confused.

Thanks,

Onedog

Optus (http://personal.optus.com.au/web/ocaportal.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=prepaid_mobile&productpath=/personal/mobile&FP=/personal/mobile/prepaidmobile&site=personal) have a phone and sim for $49 which if you activate online gives you $100 in credit.

I'm coming to SYD next week from the United States, here's a really silly question.

I've got a locked AT&T iPhone so transplanting the SIM card won't be of help.

Does anyone at the SYD airport or in SYD offer iPhone rentals for travellers? Imagining toring a new place without the great GPS/mapping/Internet browsing/etc that the iPhone may instill panic :)

Seems like it could be a hot item to sell.

Thanks~

Buy an unlocked iphone in the US. They are out of stock in Australia for the most part (supposedly a global shortage of iphones). Otherwise you are needing to sign a 2 year contract to get any iphone in Oz, for well over USD 2000 depending on the plan.

\

I've got a locked AT&T iPhone so transplanting the SIM card won't be of help.


I would suggest seeing if you can find somewhere that unlocks phones and can get the sim restriction removed for you before you come

Dave

They are out of stock in Australia for the most part (supposedly a global shortage of iphones).You can check iPhone availability at Apple's Australian stores here. (http://www.apple.com/au/retail/iphone/availability.html) Currently (but who knows tomorrow?) reporting all models available at all stores.

I would suggest seeing if you can find somewhere that unlocks phones and can get the sim restriction removed for you before you come

Dave

The problem is unlocking your phone voids the warranty. So, this hacker at heart won't be doing that.

If arriving at syd International airport, the vodafone stall which operates during normal hours, to about 8pm does do phone rentals but it is expensive. If you have time, i would simply buy a cheap gsm non-high tech phone from ebay and bring it to australia. You can get the sim card at most woolworths supermarket or coles or even the Auspost outlets which are simply the post office. Calling system is calling party pays so its free to receive but you pay to call.

Buy an unlocked iphone in the US. They are out of stock in Australia for the most part (supposedly a global shortage of iphones). Otherwise you are needing to sign a 2 year contract to get any iphone in Oz, for well over USD 2000 depending on the plan.

Yeah, the contract thing is the same thing here in the US.

Shortage? Really? You can't get away from them here, they seem to be everywhere. I hope they resolve the supply issue elsewhere, it's really a great tool.

And, think of this. They should offer the iPhone 3G 8GB model for rent at airports for travellers. The traveller shows up, wants to rent an iPhone. They provide a credit card, where it is immediately debited for the uncontracted price of the phone. That's $499 USD. Maybe add alittle more to account for usage/administrative fees, so $599 USD.

Put these phones in unlimited calling and data plans (if those exist in Australia). Charge like $50-100 USD/week, and you've got yourself a great profit margin, and if they don't return the phone or it's broken, you take that deposit and buy a new one.

When they return the phone, they get their $599 USD deposit back, or, you apply that credit to their usage. So, if they rented it for 2 weeks, and it was $100/week they get $399 back. You get the idea.

I've given someone a wonderful gem to make some money at Internatonal Airports. :) If you take this idea and make some dough on it, just offer me free rentals when I visit your country :)

You can buy unlocked iphones directly from Apple in Australia. They get deliveries every morning. If you arrive early, you will have your pick of model.

Prices here: http://store.apple.com/au/browse/home/shop_iphone/family/iphone?mco=NzcwNjc0NQ

You can buy unlocked iphones directly from Apple in Australia. They get deliveries every morning. If you arrive early, you will have your pick of model.

Prices here: http://store.apple.com/au/browse/home/shop_iphone/family/iphone?mco=NzcwNjc0NQYet that web site says "delivery in 5-7 business days". I suppose it is every morning, just not next day :)

Cheaper sources of iphones are sold out. The 8GB is AUD 719 and the cheapest 3GS is AUD 879. Buy it in the US.

Yet that web site says "delivery in 5-7 business days". I suppose it is every morning, just not next day :)

Cheaper sources of iphones are sold out. The 8GB is AUD 719 and the cheapest 3GS is AUD 879. Buy it in the US.

The timescales are only if you want it delivered. I was in the Chatswood store this morning and could have bought one off the shelf.

The timescales are only if you want it delivered. I was in the Chatswood store this morning and could have bought one off the shelf.

Ozzie, did you play with the new iPod(s)?

I'll be checking out the iPod Touch, if there's a new model, in case it's tempting to bring along on our next long-haul flight. :cool:

[QUOTE=gorgi_flyer;12347917]If arriving at syd International airport, the vodafone stall which operates during normal hours, to about 8pm does do phone rentals but it is expensive. If you have time, i would simply buy a cheap gsm non-high tech phone from ebay and bring it to australia. QUOTE]

Save the hastle and buy a prepaid phone at the Vodafone store at Sydney International for $69.00 and then you will be guaranteed it will work.