Pre-paid Australian Sim Card

[traderjm]

I assume that Oz has something along the lines of AIS and offers a prepaid sim card one can buy and use while on vacation there. I have looked on the net and see a couple from Telstra and another company that I can't recall off the top of my head. But one was 39. and one 49 AUD. Seems pretty hefty for basically a throw away SIM. I know in Canada I only had to pay 10 bucks.

So if you have info suggestions link etc, please let me know I am thinking at those prices it might be cheaper to have the roaming turned on for my GSM advance SIM from AIS.

Thanks,

[astral]

A Google of "Australia prepaid sim"

shows card starting from AU$5

[traderjm]

A Google of "Australia prepaid sim"

shows card starting from AU$5

can you show me that link? I do not get it when I google, I do get a sim that starts with a 5 AUS balance, but not the actual card cost..

[neverdie]

But when you buy them for $39/$49 they usually include an amount of $$$ worth of calls.....like optus $49, u get about $130 worth of calls with it, then you can set it to a plan and top up from there as required.

[Musongman]

Optus is good, a friend gets them every year. $30 lots and lots of call value and sms, just renew after 30 days if you stay. Next time you come, you may even be able to get the same phone number.

[garyh]

You can get Vodafone sim for $2 AUD, Telstra will be more expensive for calls too. http://www.vodafone.com.au/personal/prepai...icaps/index.htm

[Eureka]

You can get Vodafone sim for $2 AUD, Telstra will be more expensive for calls too. http://www.vodafone.com.au/personal/prepai...icaps/index.htm

SIM cards are available in many locations, including Supermarkets, at a range of prices depending on the amount of included calls.

The major carriers are Telstra, Optus, Vodafone and 3.

Info for Telstra at http://www.telstra.com.au/mobile/prepaid/

Vodafone calls are cheaper but coverage is not very good outside the larger metro areas. Telstra is 40 cents / 30 sec after 13/04/2010

Telstra has the best coverage throughout the whole of Australia so if you are moving around they are the best. Better coverage in the remote areas and along highways may be important for peace of mind in a foreign country.

If you intend to stay in metro areas look at the cheapest prices per call but also where you can purchase refills for the SIM. Refills are available at Supermarkets but not for all of the phone companies.

[newcomer01]

Check the call rates. I used the $39 seal Optus card but most of the options I didn't use eg texting, calls to Optus phones etc. Another thing I found was the the $10 top up for international calls which gave 120 mins to Thailand. The normal rate was $1.47 per min.