Phone services for BlackBerry

[tusootu]

Hey!

I am moving to Singapore in a few weeks for 6 months. I want to be able to use my Blackberry phone while I'm there. I've been doing some reading on Singtel and Starhub, but it's a little bit confusing for a noob like me.

It seems that both ST and SH have Blackberry Prepaid plans. I was wondering if these prepaid deals include voice calls or is it only data plans?
I probably won't be calling or receiving that many calls while in Singapore, so I only need something small. And with the Blackberry, it's mostly for checking my emails.
Can anyone help me and shed some light onto this for me?

Much appreciated, thanks!

[Tigerslayer]

The prepaid plans take a fee from your credit for the BlackBerry Services and any remaining credit can be used for voice.

They will charge for both making and receiving calls so make sure you have enough left after purchasing the BB plan to be able to do so

You can check the Singtel / Starhub websites for their going rates. Do watch out though since prepaid BB is not cheap.

If you will be having a work pass or EP while you are here you can sign up for a SIM only monthly post paid contract which can usually be cancelled after 3 months. This will work out cheaper for a 6 month stay.

Also make sure your BlackBerry device is not locked to your current network otherwise it may not work when you put a different SIM inside. (you can call your existing provider to check and unlock if available)

[tusootu]

If you will be having a work pass or EP while you are here you can sign up for a SIM only monthly post paid contract which can usually be cancelled after 3 months. This will work out cheaper for a 6 month stay.

I saw this SIM-only plan, but it didn't say whether it includes data for my Blackberry.

This is all so confusing - I have never heard of being charged for incoming calls before!

[aster]

This is all so confusing - I have never heard of being charged for incoming calls before!

Well, it's not exactly a first world, competitive telecoms market over here.

[Tigerslayer]

LOL

Well, it's not exactly a first world, competitive telecoms market over here.

The first time I was charged for incoming calls was in the US... not sure if it is still practiced there but was a big shock compared to the UK where cost of the incoming call is bared by the caller.

It is something the OP will get used to im sure.

As for monthly contract if they dont specify BB then likely it is not BB Data enabled.

If you are confused I suggest calling Singtel and Starhub 'Customer Service' and ask them for their rates and what is included.

[zzm9980]

LOL

Well, it's not exactly a first world, competitive telecoms market over here.

The first time I was charged for incoming calls was in the US... not sure if it is still practiced there

Yes, mobile usage is charged on both ends. However it's often free if you do mobile to mobile on the carrier's own network.

You also don't have any units smaller than a minute, which sucks since most of my calls are either 20+ minutes or under 20 seconds.

[aster]

You also don't have any units smaller than a minute, which sucks since most of my calls are either 20+ minutes or under 20 seconds.

Well, Starhub prepaid has per-second billing.

They also have some prepaid Blackberry thing that comes out to $25/mth:
http://www.starhub.com/mobile/prepaidca ... idvas.html

[zzm9980]

You also don't have any units smaller than a minute, which sucks since most of my calls are either 20+ minutes or under 20 seconds.

Well, Starhub prepaid has per-second billing.

They also have some prepaid Blackberry thing that comes out to $25/mth:
http://www.starhub.com/mobile/prepaidca ... idvas.html

Sorry, i was talking about US Telecoms in reply to TigerSlayer

[tusootu]

Thanks everyone for the input!
I think I am just going to get a voice prepaid deal and forget about subscribing to Blackberry Internet Server. I'll just have to get another prepaid deal for my laptop.
Cheers!

[ddlim12]

Just get any plans with Blackberry Value-Added Service (VAS)