Telephone Services in Australia

For Emergency Services in Australia
(Police, Fire and Ambulance) use the
000
telephone number

Getting a Phone line connected in your property

If your property has already had a telephone line connected, all you need to do is contact your chosen telephone provider and request the line be transferred to your name. There will be a cost involved, and Telstra, as an example, currently quote $59 (Nov 2008)

The info for Telstra is at: www.telstra.com.au

Phoning Australia from the UK

Australia's country code is 61.

For calls from United Kingdom to Australia dial: 00 + 61 + state code + area code + telephone number

The normal dialling code from the UK to various parts of Australia would be:
Sydney and NSW : 00 61 2 xxxx xxxx (Some parts of Southern New South Wales will use the 03 area code)
Canberra and ACT : 00 61 2 xxxx xxxx
Melbourne and Victoria : 00 61 3 xxxx xxxx (Some parts of Northern Victoria will use the 02 area code)
Brisbane and QLD : 00 61 7 xxxx xxxx
Perth, WA : 00 61 8 xxxx xxxx
Adelaide and SA : 00 61 8 xxxx xxxx
Hobart and TAS : 00 61 3 xxxx xxxx
Darwin and NT : 00 61 8 xxxx xxxx

Phoning UK from Australia

For calls to United Kingdom from Australia dial: 0011 + 44 + area code + telephone number

International Dialling Codes to Australia can be checked at:

• www.timeanddate.com
Links that may be worth checking for overseas call options

• www.pennytel.com

Local Calls

Local Calls in Australia are untimed, and can cost between 15c and about 35c per call, but it is worth checking on what is classed as local in your area.

Long Distance Calls

Long Distance Calls in Australia are sometimes capped at around $2.50 per call, but each provider gives different options.

• 1800 numbers are free calls when dialled from anywhere within Australia.
• 1300 numbers are charged at the local call rate when dialled from anywhere within Australia.
• 1900 numbers are premium numbers and can be as much as $5.00 per minute.

International Calls

International calls can be made using one of many different Pre-Paid Phone cards available.

PhoneCard Selector - Select from about 20 different Phone cards and compare rates

Be aware of the rates being quoted by each card: you may get hit with Connection and Disconnection fees !!

For example, we have been using one card that quotes a rate of: Rate Per Min : 0.071 & Connection Fee : $0.00 , however, on querying a charge when we could not get through, we are told to check the web site conditions, and saw this:

Rates shown in $AUS per minute based on local access dialing.
Rates correct as of 07/04/08, subject to change without notice.
20c service fee applies daily after first use.
The initial 10 seconds are free.
Calls timed initial 2 minutes then in periods of 10 minutes.
Rates are calculated on one continuous call.
Final call charges rounded up to the nearest 5 cents

So, there isn't a connection fee, but there is a service fee!

A 3 minute call at 7.1c per minute, that we thought would cost 21.3 cents will actually cost 110 cents.

This call would only cost us 57 cents using our engin connection. (This is not a call to the UK, which for us is free)

When you are on the phone with another call, and someone else rings you, they do not always get the engaged tone, the phone may ring, but YOU should hear a beeping tone (2 beeps every 5 seconds) to advise you that you have a 2nd call.
You then have the option to put the first call on hold, and take the 2nd call, and then revert back to the 1st call after that one ends.
If your line is used for dial up internet, it is best to set up call waiting cancellation, for the duration of that internet session, so that the caller gets the engaged tone, and your internet session isn't interrupted.

Information on call waiting from Telstra

Mobile Phone Providers

• Virgin Mobile
  
• Vodaphone Mobile
  
• Telstra Mobile
  
• Optus Mobile
  
• 3 - Hutchison 3G




Vodafone, from June 1st 2009, will be offering totally free calls between Vodafones.
Prior to this change they were charging a 20 cent flagfall.
This does make the 365 day talk plan a very cheap option, for those who only use it to call other Vodafones.
$30 per year, per phone, gives us all the calls we need within our family.

UK Mobile Phones

Most UK Mobile phones will work in Australia, you just need to ensure they are unlocked.
One link worth checking for unlocking your phones is: http://www.trycktill.com/eng

Broadband Internet Telephone Systems VOIP

Broadband Internet Telephone Systems (VOIP) have helped to bring down the cost of telephone calls in Australia and internationally.

Untimed calls between the Major Cities can be made for as little as 10 cents UNTIMED.

The following is an example of companies providing these services:

www.engin.com.au

With National calls at 10cents untimed, and International calls from 3.5c per minute, OR EVEN FREE TO THE UK ON ONE PLAN, you just buy the voice box, (sometimes available for FREE) attach it to your Broadband router and pay a monthly fee, from $9.95

Mine is $19.95 with free UK and Australia calls.

The basic option is $9.95 per month, with no free calls.
You can hook any phone up to this voice box, I have a Telstra Cordless Phone with two handsets on mine.

You do need a phone connection for the Broadband, unless you have a cable connection.

Another to look at is MyNetPhone

Compare Telephone Providers

Phone Choice is one of Australia's most established and comprehensive site for all your Telecommunications needs. You will find independent, unbiased advice and solutions.

The Main Land Line Telephone Providers in Australia are:

Telstra : The main provider of Landline Telephone services

A common plan is the "HomeLine Plus"
Monthly Line Rental $29.95
Local Calls (per call) 18c (Local calls are untimed)
Calls to the UK are normally charged at 21c per minute

You can get their "HomeLine Budget" It is cheaper rental, but with higher call cost.
Monthly Line Rental $20.95
Local Calls (per call) 30.0c (Local calls are untimed)
Calls to the UK, on the budget plan are charged at 47c per minute

Plan prices can be seen at:

• www.telstra.com.au/.../compare_and_order_a_plan.html
With Telstra's International Value Pack, you can call destinations such as UK, Singapore, USA, and Canada for just 2c per minute plus a low 39c call connection fee, for only $5 extra per month.
The International Value Pack is NOT available with the Budget plan.



Optus : options are:

You will be able to connect either directly to the Optus cable network, or to the Telstra network with billing by Optus.
They seem to have three Line Rental/Call Cost options:
Monthly Line rental of $35.95 with local call cost 15c
Monthly Line rental of $31.95 with local call cost 22c
Monthly Line rental of $24.95 with local call cost 30c

They may have more options.......... look at their website


Primus seem to have three main Plans with Line Rentals of:

$31.45 with local call cost of 15c
$29.95 with local call cost of 16.5c
$27.40 with local call cost of 19c


AAPT have a few plans,

Nov 2008 Plan details at: Forum
Anytime Plus, being one of them at $29.95 per month Phone line rental with 17.5c Local calls
They also have what they call "Homechat" plans, where you can pay a certain amount each month which allows a higher value of calls.
They also have their $59 cap, which allows unlimited overseas calls to certain countries, UK included.

Reading the website they also seem to do a $44.95 per month line rental that allows free local calls. Again, check the website to get accurate details.


DigiPlus is a smaller operator, and a few options are shown here:

Value Plan
$27.95 per month Phone line rental with 16.5c Local calls

HomeNet
$32.95 per month Phone line rental with 16.5c Local calls
Dial-up Internet with 20MB downloads included

MaxValue
$49.95 per month Phone line rental with 50 FREE Local calls
then further locals calls at 16c each and Unlimited Dial-up Internet

Links

Testing your phone line: (No guarantees on these, nor any idea on what they may cost)

If you dial 1272 2123 you will hear confirmation of your Telephone Number.
If you dial 127 11 you will hear confirmation of which service provider is billing you for long distance calls.

1800 801 920 will tell you your own number
127 11 will tell you your carrier

You can dial 1272 2123 on your mobile.
You can also use 1272 2199 for ring back to test the line.