How to distinguish Brits in NZ
#1
Forum Regular
Thread Starter
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 36
Pay as you go phones/phone cards
Hello all
Any recommendations on the best mobile phone provider to go with. I know that Vodafone is there, but who is best?
Also, do international phone cards make more sense, financially?
Any recommendations on the best mobile phone provider to go with. I know that Vodafone is there, but who is best?
Also, do international phone cards make more sense, financially?
Last edited by mkumar; Jul 18th 2008 at 12:50 pm.
#2
Enjoying retirement
Joined: Jun 2008
Location: Rural Taranaki
Posts: 320
Re: How to distinguish Brits in NZ
Unlike the UK, NZ only has two mobile phone providers, Telecom and Vodaphone.
Telecom use a system without SIM cards, so if you're bringing your UK phones you're stuck with Vodaphone. Remember to get your UK phones unlocked before you leave the UK, but otherwise they will work perfectly in NZ on Vodaphone
Phonecards definately make sense. My card lets me call the UK for 3.8 Cents (1.5p) a minute anytime from a landline, cheaper than a local call in the UK!!. The best deal I can get from Telecom is, I think, 16c a minute offpeak.
Telecom use a system without SIM cards, so if you're bringing your UK phones you're stuck with Vodaphone. Remember to get your UK phones unlocked before you leave the UK, but otherwise they will work perfectly in NZ on Vodaphone
Phonecards definately make sense. My card lets me call the UK for 3.8 Cents (1.5p) a minute anytime from a landline, cheaper than a local call in the UK!!. The best deal I can get from Telecom is, I think, 16c a minute offpeak.
#3
Re: How to distinguish Brits in NZ
Unlike the UK, NZ only has two mobile phone providers, Telecom and Vodaphone.
Telecom use a system without SIM cards, so if you're bringing your UK phones you're stuck with Vodaphone. Remember to get your UK phones unlocked before you leave the UK, but otherwise they will work perfectly in NZ on Vodaphone
Phonecards definately make sense. My card lets me call the UK for 3.8 Cents (1.5p) a minute anytime from a landline, cheaper than a local call in the UK!!. The best deal I can get from Telecom is, I think, 16c a minute offpeak.
Telecom use a system without SIM cards, so if you're bringing your UK phones you're stuck with Vodaphone. Remember to get your UK phones unlocked before you leave the UK, but otherwise they will work perfectly in NZ on Vodaphone
Phonecards definately make sense. My card lets me call the UK for 3.8 Cents (1.5p) a minute anytime from a landline, cheaper than a local call in the UK!!. The best deal I can get from Telecom is, I think, 16c a minute offpeak.
Cheers
Cally
#4
Re: Pay as you go phones/phone cards
Yep I agree phone cards are the way, I can call back home for 3.9c per minute including GST - I call UK America and Spain for the same price, less than a toll call here. Never have any extra's on my phone bill as local calls are free and I use the phone card for all other calls. $50 can last me 3 months or more depending on who I am calling and how long for.
#5
Re: How to distinguish Brits in NZ
Do bring you phones, as you have lots more choice in UK and what you think is pretty basic will be super cool here.
Landlines we pay $2.99 for 1st hr and get charges max. $4.99 per call to UK via Worlwide exchange.
Clothes is the other thing, according to my wife NZ is light years behind she yearns for a proper NEXT(not 5yrs out of date one at Onehunga) and other general big clothing stores which you take for granted in UK that sell reasonable priced good quality semi-fashionable clothes.
Cars. do not come here and convert your pounds to dollars when buying a car, no-one cares if you are driving a BMW, Volvo, people just have cars here and you can get a good bargain, but remember make sure they have a WOF and some Rego to go. Best place is Ellerslie car market, the AA have people there to check over cars for you before you buy, it is like a carboot sale for cars.
Other thing not to do that the Kiwi's understandably hate is say "when we were in the UK we did it this way or that way" this will not find you friends very quickly, or you could join one of the many whinging poms groups(which I am not welcome cause I am Scottish) that sit round every weekend and moan about how bad and how hard things are here, been to one just after we arrived and wanted to go home right after it.
Last edited by theduke; Jul 19th 2008 at 10:52 pm.
#6
Forum Regular
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 45
Re: How to distinguish Brits in NZ
We use Skype for all our phone calls. We have set it up to use a normal phone (not the PC) for calls. Flat rate for calling many countries if you sign up for skype world unlimited. About 50 quid for 12 months as many minutes as you like, which also includes 3 incoming numbers so you can set one up in the UK (or anywhere else) so that friends/rles call a UK number and it gets transfered to NZ. If you're moving round NZ you could have one here so you don't need to keep changing your number with people too.
HTH
Andy
HTH
Andy