Sims Cards Available?

[paulnuek]

Is it possible to buy sim cards after clearing customs/passport control?

I know it was possible at the old airport.

Any idea how much they are- had 1-2-call and was ok in January.

[Cheeky Farang]

Is it possible to buy sim cards after clearing customs/passport control?

I know it was possible at the old airport.

Any idea how much they are- had 1-2-call and was ok in January.

Sim cards can be bought just after you come through the exit doors after customs. There are AIS and DTAC counters there. I was told by AIS thaat they only sold 21day tourist sims for 1000 baht,

So I went to DTAC and they sold me a sim for 150 baht I also bought 200baht top up, and that will say active until late Dec., but as you add for top-ups the longer the sim card will be active.

So my suggestion is use DTAC if you buy from the airport.

CF

[paulnuek]

Is it possible to buy sim cards after clearing customs/passport control?

I know it was possible at the old airport.

Any idea how much they are- had 1-2-call and was ok in January.

Sim cards can be bought just after you come through the exit doors after customs. There are AIS and DTAC counters there. I was told by AIS thaat they only sold 21day tourist sims for 1000 baht,

So I went to DTAC and they sold me a sim for 150 baht I also bought 200baht top up, and that will say active until late Dec., but as you add for top-ups the longer the sim card will be active.

So my suggestion is use DTAC if you buy from the airport.

CF

Thanks for that.

I will look out for DTAC tommorrow.

Thanks

Paul

[lomatopo]

As mentioned both DTAC and AIS/1-2-Call have booths on level 2, between doors # 6 & #7 between exiting Customs and leaving the main Passenger Terminal Complex. (You can head down one level to get a taxi at the offical taxi dispatch desk(s). On Sunday I noticed the line at the AIS/1-2-Call counter was 5 deep while no one was at the DTAC counter. I am fairly certain AIS/1-2-Call will sell their standard starter kit for 250 baht. They said this when I inquired on Sunday. This includes a SIM and 50 baht of talk-time with an expiration date +30 days. The standard DTAC/Happy starter kit is 199 baht.

[Spee]

Getting a SIM is ok, but what about international calling cards that can be used from mobiles? The cards for land line phones are great but don't do much good up country. Does anyone know of any of these international cards that can be used on mobiles? Last time I checked, this wasn't possible.

Edited November 27, 2006 by Spee

[chutai]

Getting a SIM is ok, but what about international calling cards that can be used from mobiles? The cards for land line phones are great but don't do much good up country. Does anyone know of any of these international cards that can be used on mobiles? Last time I checked, this wasn't possible.

When I was last there in March you could phone abroad very cheaply (2bht a minute to the UK) using an ordinary SIM card (I used to buy Orange from 7/11). All that was needed was to put a number before the country code. Sorry that I can't remember the number or whether it's changed by now?

[mikeybee]

Getting a SIM is ok, but what about international calling cards that can be used from mobiles? The cards for land line phones are great but don't do much good up country. Does anyone know of any of these international cards that can be used on mobiles? Last time I checked, this wasn't possible.

When I was last there in March you could phone abroad very cheaply (2bht a minute to the UK) using an ordinary SIM card (I used to buy Orange from 7/11). All that was needed was to put a number before the country code. Sorry that I can't remember the number or whether it's changed by now?

sounds like 009 to me,try that one, works wonder's.

[Kathe]

Do I have to change sim card when I arrive in Bkk ? I used to do it and they had to log off something in my mobile , and before I fly home I had to to make it log on. Can I use my mobile ( Europe) by exchanging sim card in Thailand ?

[lomatopo]

Using an international calling card from a mobile is sort of self-defeating. You will end up paying more per minute as you have to pay for the local air-time call in addition to the cost of the minutes from the calling card.

Either use a pre-paid calling card from a fixed line, or use one of the low-cost options directly from the mobile. Calls to the U.K. would be 9 baht per minute if using direct dialling (+44), but would be 6 baht per minute if using "009" (009 44 nnnnnnnnnnnnn). Prices are exclusive of VAT. Typically the pre-paid calling cards are 6 baht/min.

You can use a local SIM in a European phone provided it is unlocked.

[Khun Bob]

For Longevity best SIMS at the moment are Happy Simple (199 bt with credit) - good for 1 year with 1 top-up or True Move (99bt - with credit) and get the naan sorng pii package (long time 2 years), good for 2 years with use every 90 days.

For international calls it is good to use a call back service - for some good rates look at voxalot.com - this is a call back service and you get voip (cheap) rates - and can be used on any phone.

Also before you leave your home country it is best to redirect all tyrpes of calls (voice, data, fax) to your voicemail - then people in your home country can send sms/txt to you and you typically receive these free of charge and the sender pays local rates. You should not pay roaming (###### expensive) fees with this method for receiving sms/txt

If anyone would like to buy a thai, malaysian ot Lao SIM prior to going to South East Asia - so you know you number there in advance and can let your friends, family, associates know, please PM me.

Edited November 29, 2006 by Khun Bob

[lomatopo]

For international calls it is good to use a call back service - for some good rates look at voxalot.com - this is a call back service and you get voip (cheap) rates - and can be used on any phone.

I looked but could not find any call-back rates. Can you provide the typical call-back rates for calls from Thailand to the U.K. or U.S.A. in any currency (THB/GBP.USD)?