Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Mobile Phones
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Local numbers with the prefix 04xx belong to mobile phones.
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Australia's digital network is compatible with GSM 900 and 1800 (used in Europe), but generally not with networks
in the USA or Japan.
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Queensland generally gets good mobile-phone reception, but service can be haphazard or non-existent in the interior
and far north (eg the Daintree Rainforest)
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To get connected, buy a starter kit, which may include a phone or, if you have your own phone, a SIM card (under
$10) and a prepaid charge card. Pick up starter kits and SIM cards at airport mobile-phone shops or outlets in the big cit-
ies. Purchase recharge vouchers at convenience stores and newsagents.
Phone Codes
To call overseas from Australia, dial
0011 or
0018, the country code, then the area code (without the initial 0).
So, for a London number you'd dial
0011-44-171, then the number.
If dialling Queensland from overseas, the country code is
61, and drop the zero in the
07 area code.
Area codes within Australia:
STATE/ TERRITORY
AREA CODE
Queensland
07
New South Wales, Australian Capital Territory
02
South Australia, Western Australia, Northern Territory
08
Victoria, Tasmania
03
Phonecards & Public Phones
You can purchase phonecards at newsagents and post offices. Use them with public or private phones by dialling a toll-
free access number and then the PIN on the card. Some public phones also accept credit cards (most are coin-free these
days).
Toll-Free & Reverse-Charges Calls
Toll-free numbers (prefix
1800) can be called free of charge. Calls to numbers beginning with
13 or
1300
are charged at the rate of a local call.
To make a reverse-charge (collect) call within Australia, dial
1800-REVERSE (
1800 738 3773) from any
public or private phone.
