Discover down under!
Each day a different picture pertaining to Starfire's tour of Australia is featured, along with a brief
explanation written by Australia enthusiasts.
2005 June 22
Will my cell phone work in Australia?
Click on the picture to see a Cassowary Bird (you'll see why in a minute).
The short answer is "no" your cell phone won't work in Australia. (There exist cell phones that can operate anywhere in the
world, but it's unlikely that yours is one of them, because they have special circuitry to operate at multiple radio frequencies, plus you'd need a cell plan that covers Australia.)
Some other options (none of which are cheap and easy, except the last one):
You could rent or buy a
"world phone"
that works in Australia (as well as most other countries), but they're expensive.
If you have a GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) phone, you may be able to
"unlock it" -- for a small fee, buy a new "sim card" for a cell phone provider in Australia -- for a bigger fee, and sign up for a plan in Australia -- with all sorts of fee options.
You could rent or buy a
"satellite phone"
that communicates through satellites instead of terrestrial cell towers, but again, they're pretty pricey.
You could take your laptop, buy
Voice-over-Internet-Protocol (VoIP)
software and a microphone, find a wired or wireless internet connection in Australia, and talk to your family and friends that are VoIP-equiped.
Talk with your friends on the bus and mail your family and friends postcards of
Koalas
and
Cassowary Birds!
