TELECOM Digest OnLine - Sorted: Re: Japanese Calling Home From UK - Questions

Re: Japanese Calling Home From UK - Questions

John Levine (johnl@iecc.com)
28 Jan 2005 04:35:20 -0000

Mobile phones in the UK are all GSM 900/1800. Japanese phones will
not work there.

Prepaid service is widely available in the UK. You can either buy a
phone and a UK SIM together or you can get any unlocked used GSM
900/1800 phone on ebay and just buy a UK SIM for it. All European
mobile service is caller-pays, so once her family knows her number,
they can call her and although it'll be sort of expensive for them, it
won't cost her anything. If she wants to call them, I'd suggest she
call, then they can call her back since international rates on
prepaids are pretty high, like 40p per minute. If you want to get the
phone and phone number ahead of time, Google for "uk prepaid GSM" and
it's easy to find companies that will sell you a phone and SIM for
about $200.

> * A phone which can be arranged after arrival in the UK and which
> includes a Japanese language function.

I looked around, and I don't think they exist. On the other hand,
using a basic mobile phone isn't hard. There's a button you push to
turn it on or off, a numeric keypad to enter the number, a usually
green button to make calls, and another usually red button to hang up.
Modern phones have about a thousand other features, none of which you
need to understand to make phone calls. I'd suggest something old and
simple like a Motorola Timeport. If she can't figure that out, her
first attmpt to use a public washroom will probably be fatal so it'll
be moot anyway.

Regards,

John Levine johnl@iecc.com Primary Perpetrator of The Internet for Dummies,
Information Superhighwayman wanna-be, http://www.johnlevine.com, Mayor
"More Wiener schnitzel, please", said Tom, revealingly.

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