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Now
you can use your mobile phone while
cruising Vanuatu. Telecom
Vanuatu has come up with a formula
that will let you connect up your
own GSM mobile phone during your
stay with no hassles and at reasonable
cost.
Vanuatu has joined New Caledonia, Australia
and New Zealand with pre-paid SIM
cards that you can put into your
phone for immediate use. Of course,
you have to buy another card when
you visit each country but if you
plan to stay in Vanuatu for a few
weeks or a couple of months you will
find it is still much cheaper to
go with the prepaid card than to
use the normal "roaming"
feature offered by phone companies
in Australia, NZ and the US. (International
Roaming does not work yet in Vanuatu
anyway).
Your
GSM mobile phone will work in Port
Vila, Luganville, and Norsup (in
Malakula) and new coverage is being
set up in other areas.
Telecom
Vanuatu Ltd. (TVL) has a very user
friendly Smile Visitor Welcome
Pack. If you already have
a GSM mobile phone, you simply buy
the Visitor welcome pack, put in
the SIM card and start calling immediately.
You don't even have to register.
The
SIM card costs 1500 Vatu (about US$11)
and you pay up front for 6500 Vatu
worth of calls - a total of 8000
Vatu (about US$60). The card is good
for 2 months which means you have
to use it up in that time. You can
refill the card at any "refil
station" and add VT500, 1000,
or more as desired.
Calls
to anywhere in Vanuatu are 20 Vatu
per 2 minutes (or 20 VT for 4 minutes
between 8 PM and 6 AM and on Sunday
and public holidays) plus a VT40
connect charge. But unless you have
business ashore or want to have a
way for your shore party to call
you, your main use will probably
be calling overseas or having people
call you.
Calling
Australia, NZ, Fiji or New Caledonia costs VT 133 (about US$1.40) per minute
between 6 AM and 8 PM or VT 108 per
minute between 8 PM and 6 AM or on
Sunday or public holidays. Calls
to the rest of the world cost VT
216 per minute peak-time and VT 168
off-peak. This means you'll get almost
an hour of off-peak talking overseas
for the price of the card.
It
does not cost you anything when people
call you. You can set your home phone
to redirect calls to your temporary
Vanuatu phone number or simply email
your family with your new number
so they can keep in touch.
 If
you plan to stay in Vanuatu for more
than two months or if you are coming
back to Vanuatu next year, you should
get the Smile Refil Welcome
Pack. This costs VT 5000
but only VT 1000 of this is prepaid
calls. If you recharge the card a
couple of times the card will be
good for a year.
In
Port Vila, the easiest place to get
your card or refill is at Yachting
World's Internet Cafe, a few steps
from the dinghy wharf. In Luganville
or Norsup, you can get your card
or refill at the local telecom office.
If
you don't have a GSM phone yet, Vanuatu
is a good place to buy one as they
are the same price as in Australia
and cheaper than in New Zealand.
In Australia you will surely want
to have your GSM phone hooked up
to your notebook so you can send
and receive emails. So you should
consider getting a data capable phone
that has the capability of linking
up with your notebook. Data services
are not available yet in Vanuatu
or New Caledonia but hopefully will
be in the near future.
Telecom
Vanuatu Ltd. has a good selection
of mobile phones. Telecom Vanuatu
Ltd. is located 3 minutes walk north
of the Vanuatu Cruising Yacht Club
on Lini Highway (the main street
of Port Vila).
To
visit the TVL general web site click
here.
Call
TVL at 678 22005
Fax
TVL at 678 22122 |
