Which Company for US Calls

[Kris18]

Like I said - in HK you buy your international calls separately from your underlying mobile phone plan (or at least if you don't and just dial +1 <area code> <number> you're going to be paying about 10-20 times more than you need to).

For the best coverage choose from CSL, 3 or Smartone. All do SMS, internet access and so on.

For the best price - you really need to just shop around and find out what this week's best offers are that suit your needs - packages and bundles change weekly. If you need a new device then you can get, for example, quad-band Blackberries for "free" if you are going to be here long enough to make a 12 month commitment, and so on. There are literally hundreds of price packages available, with or without bundled devices - you just need to go talk to the operators.

Thanks a lot. This is very helpful. I had no idea that the international calls had to be a separate plan. I can call HK from my current cell from the states for .02 cents a min. I have a lot to learn! Ha Ha! Thanks again.

[PDLM]

Thanks a lot. This is very helpful. I had no idea that the international calls had to be a separate plan. I can call HK from my current cell from the states for .02 cents a min. I have a lot to learn! Ha Ha! Thanks again.

My pleasure. But do I understand that you have a US-based GSM account, you are roaming in Hong Kong, and you can make IDD calls back to the US for US$0.02/min? I would find that extremely surprising. GSM roaming charges alone are normally at least tens of cents per minute. Have you double-checked that against a bill since you started doing it?

[sunniefaith]

Be careful with auto roaming charges...The bill can really hit you in your face! Have now gotten slightly smarter...I buy a prepaid SIM in the country that I'm travelling in these days.

[Kris18]

My pleasure. But do I understand that you have a US-based GSM account, you are roaming in Hong Kong, and you can make IDD calls back to the US for US$0.02/min? I would find that extremely surprising. GSM roaming charges alone are normally at least tens of cents per minute. Have you double-checked that against a bill since you started doing it?

I might have worded that badly...sorry. I'm still in the U.S. until tomorrow and i was mentioning the rate from my U.S. cell to HK from the U.S. Sorry I wasn't really clear about that.

[PDLM]

OIC - sorry, I misread that. US0.02 is also about what you should pay for calling the US from HK on a HK mobile with something like IDT1529 (actually HK$0.18). You'll also have to pay local airtime, but most people buy a monthly package (often for less than HK$100/US$12) that includes far more airtime minutes than they use.

[Bungle]

I have to say that I disagree with the idea that Sunday's coverage is worse than Smartone's. I use Sunday and my girlfriend uses Smartone (she is actually planning to change to Sunday today or tomorrow) and we have consistently noticed that my card gets a better signal than hers (same Sony Ericsson phone). Particularly we live on Lamma and she is lucky to even get a signal in our flat, whereas I have no problems.

I previously used CSL (about 1-1.5 yrs ago) and Sunday is better than than they were too. I suspect the Sunday service has improved greatly over the last couple of years. Perhaps the PCCW takeover has had some positive impact recently as well.


I use OneTel 1686 for IDD, and though the call quality is perfect, I can't comment on their pricing.

[longbeard]

Just to clarify. I'm looking for a mobile phone plan not a voice over IP plan or home internet access.

I'm hoping to use a cell phone for the majority of my calls. In the U.S. I use my cell for surfing the web, email, text messaging, calls, and as a PDA/Planner.

I'm just hoping to figure out which carrier will let me call back to the U.S. for cheap and hopefully use text messaging and internet on the plan as well.

Thanks for all the help everyone!

Kris

The perfect plan for you is HGC 0088 Unlimited:

https://online.hgc.com.hk/0088/index_en.html


Unlimited on a number of countries and you can use your Mobile Phone (but excluding the per minute charging your HK Mobile Provider)

https://online.hgc.com.hk/0088/images/0088plan_en.jpg


I use 0088 for 6 months and had a minor problems like 3 times to dial, sometimes hard to hear the called party but with the price of HKD$48 per month, its ok.