The Unlawyer

One piece of travel advice that I always dispense is: if you intend to place or receive a lot of calls while travelling abroad, then you can avoid paying the high roaming fees charged by your home mobile phone company by purchasing a prepaid mobile phone subscription [Also known as a prepaid SIM card - Ed.] and using the same for the duration of your stay.

Now, I have had the chance to test several prepaid calling plans offered by a trio of southeast Asian mobile telephone companies and here is my review of them.

Hong Kong: PCCW Mobile Rechargeable SIM Card

This particular version of PCCW Mobile’s prepaid service by far offers the cheapest local calling rates of the three services surveyed – as low as HKD 0.06/PHP 0.35 per minute for off-peak use and HKD 0.12/PHP 0.70 per minute during peak hours, with no distinction being made whether the called party is a fixed line or a wireless number. With the SMS tariff as high as HKD 0.70/PHP 4.09 per message for intra-network text messages, it’s no wonder why very few people in Hong Kong use their mobile phones to use this feature and prefer to gab away almost everywhere: on the street, inside the shopping mall, while riding the subway train, you get the idea.

I purchased my PCCW Mobile prepaid SIM card anonymously at a PCCW Mobile shop for HKD 78.00/PHP 469.54, and which contained the same amount of credits as well. Recharge vouchers may be obtained there or at convenience stores as well. It can also be performed online using a credit card.

I had no coverage problems; reception was excellent in almost all of the places I placed a call in, even while riding Hong Kong’s MTR subway system.

Singapore: SingTel hi!card

The local calling rates for Singtel’s hi!card service are considerably more expensive than that levied by PCCW Mobile: peak rates are pegged at SGD 0.16/PHP 5.37 per minute, while the off-peak tariff is set at SGD 0.08/PHP 2.69 per minute. No distinction is also made whether the called party is a mobile phone or a landline subscriber.

Unlike in Hong Kong, I had to present an identity document, my passport in this instance, when I purchased my SingTel prepaid SIM card for SGD 50.00/PHP 1,678.80, with my account already credited with the same amount. Top up cards may be obtained at SingTel shops or at convenience stores. If I am not mistaken, you have to present an identification card too if you want to purchase additional credits for your prepaid mobile phone.

Coverage was also excellent.

Taiwan: Taiwan Mobile Prepaid Card

Of the three prepaid mobile phone services, only Taiwan Mobile charges users by the second, offering an off-peak rate of as low as TWD 0.0475/PHP 0.07 for calls to other Taiwan Mobile subscribers, and a peak rate as high as TWD 0.19/PHP 0.28 to island-wide fixed line numbers or to other mobile phones on other networks.

Like in Hong Kong, I had to show my identification papers when I purchased my Taiwan Mobile prepaid SIM card for TWD 345/PHP 517.97. I never had the chance to purchase a top up card but the brochure that came with the subscription said that it is available at “myfone stores, OK stores, or convenience stores.”

I also had no problems with Taiwan Mobile’s network coverage while I was in Taipei.