SINGAPORE EXPATS FORUM
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Mobile Phone Questions
Mobile Phone Questions
All,
I would like to buy a cheap, pre-paid mobile phone for the first month or two I am in SG. After the second month, purchase a new phone (and phone number)and a post-paid plan.
My plan is to keep the pre-paid cheap phone for when friends and family visit. I do realize I may loose credits and may even have to purchase a top-up card to keep the number.
My questions are:
1) Where to go to get a cheap pre-paid voice (no need for a data plan) SIM?
2) What would the cost be (approx.)?
3) I understanding in SG with pre-paid phones, it is the SIM that is pre-paid and I can transfer the SIM between phones. When you buy a pre-paid SIM, you are just buying the SIM itself. I will still need to buy a handset. Is this correct?
Any and all comments/advice is greatly appreciated.
I would like to buy a cheap, pre-paid mobile phone for the first month or two I am in SG. After the second month, purchase a new phone (and phone number)and a post-paid plan.
My plan is to keep the pre-paid cheap phone for when friends and family visit. I do realize I may loose credits and may even have to purchase a top-up card to keep the number.
My questions are:
1) Where to go to get a cheap pre-paid voice (no need for a data plan) SIM?
2) What would the cost be (approx.)?
3) I understanding in SG with pre-paid phones, it is the SIM that is pre-paid and I can transfer the SIM between phones. When you buy a pre-paid SIM, you are just buying the SIM itself. I will still need to buy a handset. Is this correct?
Any and all comments/advice is greatly appreciated.
1) Almost any mobile phone store will sell these. You can't walk 100m without seeing one or two. You can even buy one from the currency exchange right after customs at Changi.
2) I just bought a pre-paid M1 (a carrier) card for my in law for $18. That goes quite far for local calls. Not far at all for intl calls. there might be cheaper, but the shop I walked into only had M1.
3) Correct. A handset that is not carrier locked, too. (Important if you're bringing over an old phone from most countries that was on contract). The same shop I bought that $18 pre-paid card at was selling some cheapo new Samsung for $28.
Be aware you cannot purchase a post-paid plan unless you are a citizen, PR, or have a valid work permit. Also be aware you need your passport to purchase a pre-paid SIM, and they do report it. That sometimes libertarians' panties in a bunch.
2) I just bought a pre-paid M1 (a carrier) card for my in law for $18. That goes quite far for local calls. Not far at all for intl calls. there might be cheaper, but the shop I walked into only had M1.
3) Correct. A handset that is not carrier locked, too. (Important if you're bringing over an old phone from most countries that was on contract). The same shop I bought that $18 pre-paid card at was selling some cheapo new Samsung for $28.
Be aware you cannot purchase a post-paid plan unless you are a citizen, PR, or have a valid work permit. Also be aware you need your passport to purchase a pre-paid SIM, and they do report it. That sometimes libertarians' panties in a bunch.
They do in Indo and Malaysia too. Hell it wouldn't surprise me if you have to give some proof of ID in most countries.zzm9980 wrote: Also be aware you need your passport to purchase a pre-paid SIM, and they do report it. That sometimes libertarians' panties in a bunch.
Can't have people using untraceable phone numbers can we? Everything is monitored these days...
- Strong Eagle
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I'm OK with this... privacy is not absolute... especially when it comes to terrorists using anonymous communications.JR8 wrote:They do in Indo and Malaysia too. Hell it wouldn't surprise me if you have to give some proof of ID in most countries.zzm9980 wrote: Also be aware you need your passport to purchase a pre-paid SIM, and they do report it. That sometimes libertarians' panties in a bunch.
Can't have people using untraceable phone numbers can we? Everything is monitored these days...
I didn't say I wasn't. Just I think people should be aware of the scale of how their lives are tracked/monitored/recorded/followed.Strong Eagle wrote:I'm OK with this... privacy is not absolute... especially when it comes to terrorists using anonymous communications.JR8 wrote:They do in Indo and Malaysia too. Hell it wouldn't surprise me if you have to give some proof of ID in most countries.zzm9980 wrote: Also be aware you need your passport to purchase a pre-paid SIM, and they do report it. That sometimes libertarians' panties in a bunch.
Can't have people using untraceable phone numbers can we? Everything is monitored these days...
SMRT cards anybody? ('Do make sure you register yours for free for a chance to win a free 10c curry-puff voucher!')

Well, I know in Hong Kong, Vietnam, and the US they don't... And I'm OK with it too, just more than a few people I know from the US who have been surprised and gotten 1984-paranoid about it.Strong Eagle wrote:I'm OK with this... privacy is not absolute... especially when it comes to terrorists using anonymous communications.JR8 wrote:They do in Indo and Malaysia too. Hell it wouldn't surprise me if you have to give some proof of ID in most countries.zzm9980 wrote: Also be aware you need your passport to purchase a pre-paid SIM, and they do report it. That sometimes libertarians' panties in a bunch.
Can't have people using untraceable phone numbers can we? Everything is monitored these days...
- sundaymorningstaple
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My Mom complains that Democrats use anonymous communications as well when soliciting for phone contributions in the US. Of course, they're terrorists in a manner of speaking.Strong Eagle wrote:I'm OK with this... privacy is not absolute... especially when it comes to terrorists using anonymous communications.JR8 wrote:They do in Indo and Malaysia too. Hell it wouldn't surprise me if you have to give some proof of ID in most countries.zzm9980 wrote: Also be aware you need your passport to purchase a pre-paid SIM, and they do report it. That sometimes libertarians' panties in a bunch.
Can't have people using untraceable phone numbers can we? Everything is monitored these days...

SOME PEOPLE TRY TO TURN BACK THEIR ODOMETERS. NOT ME. I WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW WHY I LOOK THIS WAY. I'VE TRAVELED A LONG WAY, AND SOME OF THE ROADS WEREN'T PAVED. ~ Will Rogers
- the lynx
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I actually agree with SE on this, although for less-patriotic reasons. Puts off phone stalkers trying to cover their identity using SIM cards purchased anonymously...Strong Eagle wrote:I'm OK with this... privacy is not absolute... especially when it comes to terrorists using anonymous communications.JR8 wrote:They do in Indo and Malaysia too. Hell it wouldn't surprise me if you have to give some proof of ID in most countries.zzm9980 wrote: Also be aware you need your passport to purchase a pre-paid SIM, and they do report it. That sometimes libertarians' panties in a bunch.
Can't have people using untraceable phone numbers can we? Everything is monitored these days...
Most encroachments on privacy are made under the guise of terrorism, which is the most over-used and exaggerated excuse out there.
Many people choose to register their prepay phones even in countries where they don't have to (myself included), simply because if they happen to lose their phone/SIM then they want to be able to reclaim their number.
Many people choose to register their prepay phones even in countries where they don't have to (myself included), simply because if they happen to lose their phone/SIM then they want to be able to reclaim their number.
In the UK not so long ago, maybe 5-7 years they appended (sneaked in) broad anti-terror legislation onto some other government bill, 'for our own protection', and only to be used in the most 'extreme circumstances of national security'.zzm9980 wrote: If you don't agree with the rational obviously you're one of *them*.
Within 2-3 years even local councils were using it to phone-tap households suspected of causing dog fouling.
In the US they'd only use it against you if you were Muslim or Arab. I don't know if that's better or worse.JR8 wrote:In the UK not so long ago, maybe 5-7 years they appended (sneaked in) broad anti-terror legislation onto some other government bill, 'for our own protection', and only to be used in the most 'extreme circumstances of national security'.zzm9980 wrote: If you don't agree with the rational obviously you're one of *them*.
Within 2-3 years even local councils were using it to phone-tap households suspected of causing dog fouling.
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