Australia Trip - Verizon Global plan or prepaid sim?

I'm heading to Australia for the new year and will be there for about 10 days.

I unlocked my S2 in anticipation, but the other thread about going to Costa Rica got me thinking that it may be cheaper for me to simply use Verizon's global plan.

Has anyone gone to Australia (or abroad) with their S2 on the Verizon global plan? Experiences?

I know that Vodafone has pretty decent coverage in AUS, so would the global plan be worth it?

I am not important enough to NEED my emails on my BB while away, but I do have important client emails that I wouldn't mind getting while away.

Thanks.

Originally Posted by spyderman09

I'm heading to Australia for the new year and will be there for about 10 days.

I unlocked my S2 in anticipation, but the other thread about going to Costa Rica got me thinking that it may be cheaper for me to simply use Verizon's global plan.

Has anyone gone to Australia (or abroad) with their S2 on the Verizon global plan? Experiences?

I know that Vodafone has pretty decent coverage in AUS, so would the global plan be worth it?

I am not important enough to NEED my emails on my BB while away, but I do have important client emails that I wouldn't mind getting while away.

Thanks.

The Verizon Global Plan is the way to go for your trip.

I used it earlier this year on a trip to Bahrain and it was excellent!

Landed in Amsterdam and was connected to Vodaphone immediately. Got my e-mail shortly after landing. Landed in Bahrain and the same thing, connected right away and started getting my mail. Got a couple of calls from the wife and made a few as needed. Same connections on the way home through Germany and back to the USA! Cost was reasonable and the International Plan started and ended on the dates I asked for.

For short trips it's really the way to go IMHO!:D

Thanks! I think that was just the nudge I needed. The fact that you can start/stop on dates is perfect.

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just use wifi and save urself the cash to spend on something cool from AUS

Hadn't thought of that. I will likely need my phone (I'm indifferent to buying a prepaid sim or using vzw, but I know a prepaid sim would be cheaper for local calls).

I'll probably check out how "connected" i'll be and might just go this route.

Though I talked to VZW global and ~$2-3/day for unlimited data is not bad

Nice to have options though, I must say

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Global is like $62 a month, but you will get it prorated. Activate the Plan upon leaving and insure you call it quits when you are back. Pretty much only pay/use it for the time you are there. Not bad at all.

Vodafone's coverage in Aust is the worst of the three here - so definetly do not rely on them

I'm an Aussie so I thought I'd drop my opinion here. Vodafone coverage is quite decent. I live in and work in metro areas and I have never had any issues with coverage. I e been with all 4 major Aussie carriers (telstra, optus, vodafone, and three). And they are all pretty much on par with each other. If you are travelling here or anywhere for that matter, local sims would be much cheaper. Telstra have prepaid blackberries now so if you're willing to fork out 299AU then you can even get yourself a prepaid 8520 with unlimited data. Not too sure if you can get a normal prepaid sim with BB data though.

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Originally Posted by nikolous

I'm an Aussie so I thought I'd drop my opinion here. Vodafone coverage is quite decent. I live in and work in metro areas and I have never had any issues with coverage. I e been with all 4 major Aussie carriers (telstra, optus, vodafone, and three). And they are all pretty much on par with each other. If you are travelling here or anywhere for that matter, local sims would be much cheaper.

Thanks for the response. I am visiting family in Sydney as well as heading up to the Gold Coast for a few nights. I know that my cousins have Optus and Three, but I'm not sure the process to get a local sim...can I just get a prepaid card, or do I have to "sign up" (here, ATT let's you have a prepaid sim but you have to give them all your information)? Do you know what kind of prices set for international calls? I know that with VZW, the rate is $1.29/minute but I'd be paying that for both calls to the US and calls to AUS numbers, so I figure that getting a local sim would make more sense for local calls of course.

Thanks again.

hey man i can help you. im australian so i make the trip back every year to visit family. i went back in august when i had my tour and used the global plan for 2 weeks. no calls but data and texting and i paid around $30 extra for that bill. it was seamless. you call vzw and activate it at LA airport if thats the way your flying and then it switches over to vodaphone in sydney. now for a simcard heres what i would do. three is one of the cheapest in australia. you can go into any three store and get a simcard its around 5-10bucks, then buy minutes and your on your way.

only thing here is that you wont have internet usage or bbm so keep that in mind.

honestly if your not going to make calls i highly recommend you just pay for the vzw plan. heres another way to go.

telstra have very cheap prepaid phones you can buy. from $40 + and considering you want it for phone calls, and your not going to have blackberry internet or bbm. this is probably the easiest way to just buy one of them. when you get to SYD airport theres a vodaphone store, talk to the guy there and see what your options are, vodaphone has some cheap ones too.

Yea. I don't think i'll be making too many calls, because I have my cousins there with local phones anyway.

I'll take your advice and head into a vodaphone shop when I get to sydney to check out local prepaid phones.

If I do get a cheap sim for local calls, did you just swap out the sim, make your call and swap back to get data, etc again?

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I have a question..no 2 cents to add. If your get a global plan temporarily from VZW; are your calls any cheaper and will you have email, sms, and bbm?

Well, the way it was explained to me was unlimited data, and calls for about $1.29/minute while global. The call price varies depending on location (saw some countries it was as high as $3/min.

Email, bbm, and internet are all there, but since text goes through voice network, it would cost about 0.25/text.

The plan is an addition on top of your normal bb data plan, but you can get it prorated and only pay for the days you are gone, so for me, would only be about $20 more for the time I am gone over my normal monthly charge.

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Originally Posted by spyderman09

Well, the way it was explained to me was unlimited data, and calls for about $1.29/minute while global. The call price varies depending on location (saw some countries it was as high as $3/min.

Email, bbm, and internet are all there, but since text goes through voice network, it would cost about 0.25/text.

The plan is an addition on top of your normal bb data plan, but you can get it prorated and only pay for the days you are gone, so for me, would only be about $20 more for the time I am gone over my normal monthly charge.

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Thanks. I didn't realize that sms was actually a voice feature. This great info for future use. Does anyone know if this applies to cruises as well?

Originally Posted by bagz2shuz

I have a question..no 2 cents to add. If your get a global plan temporarily from VZW; are your calls any cheaper and will you have email, sms, and bbm?

If you have a data plan then BBM, email and internet are included at no extra charge. Also you pay for the global roaming plan only for the time you are away. The fee for phone calls is not determined by Verizon. You pay whatever the roaming rate is in the country you are in at the time

Originally Posted by bagz2shuz

Does anyone know if this applies to cruises as well?

I think they have various coverage areas for cruises.


Well, I called today and signed up for the International Data, and from what I can tell, it's a great deal

Gonna cost me about $1.34/day for the time I am out there, and I already have them automatically start and stop the service for the time I am over there, so I will only be charged ~$15 for unlimited data while I'm over there. Though I probably won't use it much, phone calls will only be $0.99/minute. I'll probably get a local sim for local phone calls anyway.

I couldn't be happier with the service rep that helped me. Gave me all my options, let me pick my days and have it automatically apply, and for about $15, I'll have unlimited data and my emails coming through while out there. (I'm sure the clients will be happier than I am, but I am just so used to my BB).

Thanks for all the responses and help!

What did that end up costing you ubove and beyond your standard bill? Were you able to get your data?

Cost me about $18 above my standard bill (prorated the amount, since it is a $65 data plan, but when you already have the $30 BBdata, the "additional amount" of $30 is prorated.) I was also able to get them to automatically switch me back when I came home, so truly no hassle.

I got ALL my data, emails, everything with no problem while I was down there, all unlimited and didn't cost me any more than that. I was on the Vodafone AU network for data and it was pretty decent, never had a lapse in 3G coverage (from Sydney to the Gold Coast).

I also unlocked my phone, but for the $18, I actually was able to BBM or facebook message everyone, effectively meaning I didn't have to call or text back here to the States (and when I did, I could buy a cheap phone card). So I didn't even bother buying a prepaid sim over there.

Great info, guys! Thanks!

- 98

I'm surprised no one has mentioned the Skype client. With your BB data overseas, you can Skype the US for .02/minute from your Verizon phone, and you can go Skype/Skype for free!

I don't know why anyone will pay for Vzw International phone rates again.

While that's definitely a good thing, the majority of this thread was made prior to Verizon's announcement of their deal with Skype. Though I do wish I had it then. Would have been nice to simply make a call from my phone for cheap instead of buying calling cards for better pricing.

I agree though, and I actually use Skype now to call Australia and talk for free (my family has Skype on their iPhones ... a quick email and we both jump on. $0 = great!)

Oops...I wasn't paying attention to the dates. But thanks for the feedback that Skype works so well. What a great deal!

Gary