Mobile phone questions New Zealand

[redsturgeon]

My daughter is travelling to New Zealand for a month in March and she is wondering the best way to manage her mobile phone bill.

We have checked with our provider and it would cost about £200 for what she needs for the month to use her current phone and sim.

We are now looking at her getting a sim in New Zealand. Does anyone know the best network?

TIA
John

[swill453]

New Zealand is a Three "feel at home" destination http://www.three.co.uk/feel-at-home#dest

You could get a PAYG Three SIM and buy a bundle of calls/texts/data that could be used there.

Scott.

[niord]

I use a Spark network sim for NZ. Never had a problem with coverage

They do a travel sim for about $29 which lasts a month and has enough data and talk time certainly for my needs.

There is a shop in both Auckland and Christchurch airports which sells them

[UncleEbenezer]

Get a VOIP number and use it over wifi.

Always worth it. Depending on how much of her time she'll have wifi coverage, and how prepared she is to think about that when making calls, and how much of an issue mobile data is when wifi isn't available, it might make all the difference.

[tea42]

Another vote for Three. Get a Three Simm and add a 'feel at home add on'. A tenner was enough for me for a month over there, but then I am not female I used my phone on data too and avoided all wifi charges. My daughter is a musician and visited 30 countries last year, she swears by Three, far cheaper than anything else.

[redsturgeon]

Another vote for Three. Get a Three Simm and add a 'feel at home add on'. A tenner was enough for me for a month over there, but then I am not female I used my phone on data too and avoided all wifi charges. My daughter is a musician and visited 30 countries last year, she swears by Three, far cheaper than anything else.

So can she just buy a payg Three simcard and add "feel at home"?

John

[jackdaww]

just a reminder --

BEWARE - many phone shops will try to sell you a triband or quadband phone .

in fact any uk dual band phone - will work perfectly well in most of the world - they are on the same wavebands as the UK eg 900/1800.

that includes new zealand .

it is mainly the americas and japan where you need a different phone with their wavebands .

[redsturgeon]

Get a VOIP number and use it over wifi.

Always worth it. Depending on how much of her time she'll have wifi coverage, and how prepared she is to think about that when making calls, and how much of an issue mobile data is when wifi isn't available, it might make all the difference.

She will use wifi where available but is travelling in a campervan so thinks that she will be out of wifi range much of the time, therefore it is mobile date she is most in need of.

John

[swill453]

Another vote for Three. Get a Three Simm and add a 'feel at home add on'. A tenner was enough for me for a month over there, but then I am not female I used my phone on data too and avoided all wifi charges. My daughter is a musician and visited 30 countries last year, she swears by Three, far cheaper than anything else.

So can she just buy a payg Three simcard and add "feel at home"?

She doesn't add that, it happens automatically.

However true "PAYG" functionality doesn't work (unless you're in the EU). You need to top up with credit then convert that to a bundle from here https://www.three.co.uk/Store/SIM/Pay_As_You_Go eg £10 for 1GB/3000 mins/3000 texts which expires after 30 days (so only do it shortly before leaving, I used to do it on the plane just before take off).

Scott.

[pochisoldi]

just a reminder --

BEWARE - many phone shops will try to sell you a triband or quadband phone .

in fact any uk dual band phone - will work perfectly well in most of the world - they are on the same wavebands as the UK eg 900/1800.

that includes new zealand .

it is mainly the americas and japan where you need a different phone with their wavebands .

My UK spec Galaxy S4+Three contract SIM has served me well in the UK for the last 4 years or so.
4G/LTE coverage is not a big deal - I've found that my phone never roams onto 4G abroad anyway...

[tea42]

Another vote for Three. Get a Three Simm and add a 'feel at home add on'. A tenner was enough for me for a month over there, but then I am not female I used my phone on data too and avoided all wifi charges. My daughter is a musician and visited 30 countries last year, she swears by Three, far cheaper than anything else.

So can she just buy a payg Three simcard and add "feel at home"?

John

Correct. If she loads the Three App she can top up abroad. The only restriction is that you cant tether your tablet to to phone like you can in the UK. 321 - 3p a minute, 2p per text and 1p a Mb. We no longer use our BT landline for outgoing calls. Miles cheaper than anything else and I have used it all over, Europe, the US, Oz, NZ. Pretty good coverage.

[Toandfro]

Vodafone NZ provides 'free' local SIMs, which you can usually pick up at the airport in a card which provides details of how to buy the user package that you want. (Since you can't use the SIM without buying a package it's not really free.)

https://www.vodafone.co.nz/travel-sim/

Roughly:
NZ$29= GBP16
NZ$49= GBP27

[Watis]

just a reminder --

BEWARE - many phone shops will try to sell you a triband or quadband phone .

in fact any uk dual band phone - will work perfectly well in most of the world - they are on the same wavebands as the UK eg 900/1800.

that includes new zealand .

it is mainly the americas and japan where you need a different phone with their wavebands .

You can check how compatible her phone will be on the New Zealand networks here: https://www.frequencycheck.com/countries/new-Zealand

Just enter your phone make & model and you're away.

Watis

[carrie80]

If she plans to get a local SIM, she should ensure that her phone isn't locked to a carrier - we were told that a Vodafone NZ SIM couldn't be used on a phone locked to Vodafone UK. Also, if she's travelling around rural areas (especially in the south island?), she should be prepared for no reception in a lot of areas.

[redsturgeon]

She has an unlocked iPhone 6s so I imagine she will be OK. I have already told her not to expect great coverage in the South.

John