On 18 Oct 2005 04:24:07 -0700, "john0714@aol.com"
wrote:
>Can the same sim cards that work cell phones in Australia work them in
>Europe? Any other reasons why a phone might not work both places? Can
>minutes bought in Australia be used in Europe or vice versa?
I have to say that's a very strange question. Two things to consider
here; the phone handset and the sim.
Firstly consider the technology of the phone handset. European
networks are pretty all GSM and broadcasting on two main frequency
bands 900 & 1800 GSM. Typically 1800 will be used in cities and 900
(which is longer range) will be used in more rural areas. Australian
GSM networks are almost entirely 900GSM so European mobiles will work.
However, the best coverage in Australia is using a system called CDMA
(I think). If you buy an Australian CDMA handset it won't work in
Europe. A GSM one will.
But having a handset which can lock on to local frequencies is only
part of the problem. In order to make and receive calls you need
access to a network and for that you require a sim card. To have a
sim card you have to buy into a particular brand. No one brand is
"the right answer" as each have their merits.
But I don't get your meanings about "minutes bought in Australia be
used in Europe"! Europe is many, many different countries with many
different service providers. Australia is one, different, country
with its own set of service providers. All service providers have
roaming arrangements so you can use foreign networks and it matters
not what the country is.
All you need to do is ensure you have a sim card on a tariff with a
service provider that allows you to roam in other areas. For example,
my parents have PAYG mobiles on O2 here in the UK. They've just been
travelling around and I've received text messages and calls from
Singapore, Australia, New Zealand and Thailand via their O2 phone. I
have an O2 contract phone and I am also just back from travelling,
having made calls and sent texts from Singapore, Malaysia and
Australia. O2 is the re-branded mobile wing of the British
communications giant BT. I also have a Telstra mobile - Telstra is
the current day incarnation of Australian telecoms incumbant Telecom
Australia. It doesn't work outside of Australia. That's not to say
that Telstra does not having roaming agreements, it just means that
the sim I have uses a PAYG tariff and cannot be used outside
Australia.
The short answer is that if you have a multi-band handset and an
appropriate account on a decent service provider from any country your
handset will work in pretty much any country.
>Can European appliances work in Australia without adapters and vice
>versa?
All of the EU is in the region of 230V AC mains. Australia is too,
though the plug sockets are a different configuration so you'll need a
travel adapter. Universal travel adaptors are not hard to come by in
most countries. These, however, only adapt the pin shape to fit the
socket, they do not transform voltage - plugging a 110V piece of
equipment into a mains socket in Europe or Australia is not
recommended. Not if you like that piece of equipment anyway. |