Australia mobile phone question

Hi. I have a Nokia 6220 phone on the 3 network here in Australia. It is unlocked and I do have international roaming. I have used it extensively in other parts of Asia for SMS mainly. I will be in Japan in 10 days time and am wondering if it will work there. I have checked the archives but most of the questions/responses are old. If my phone won't work can I buy a Japanese prepaid sim card like I do in other countries. Thanks :D

LONG story short,no you cant buy prepaid.

good answer is YES your phone will work here as long as its a 3g phone. so dont worry, your phone will work here.

Yes, according to your carrier, your Nokia 6220 can be used in Japan, and since it is unlocked you can use it with a prepaid sim card. What the previous posted didn't mention is that while you can't purchase a standalone prepaid sim, you can buy a softbank prepaid phone and use that sim in your phone. They cost about 5000 yen for the handset (with sim) and 3000 yen for calling credit.

A better option, however would be to rent a sim card instead. They're about 200 yen/day and the calling/sms rates are similar to prepaid rates, so over 10 days it should be cheaper. You could also get a rental phone which costs approximately the same as a rental sim. The difference is that you wouldn't use your own handset.

I will take my phone and see what happens. As long as I can SMS. I can also use Skype for home. Cheers

SMS should be no problem. The international rates are kind of high, but I believe they are comparable to sms while roaming internationally on your current Australian plan. Btw, are you taking a separate laptop for skype? If not, I read that the Nokia 6220 doesn't have wifi built in which case skype will be incredibly expensive via the cell network. Its around 2500 yen/mb for data over a rental sim.

Yes I'll take my laptop with me for Skype. Don't really want to be too contactable only for emergencies. Thanks

Great, looks like your all set then! What did you decide on for phone service?

check your phone has 2100mhz band: if it doesnt it wont work, International roaming, 3G, unlocked or not.
The 2100 is THE most important thing.

I checked earlier, and it operates on the HSDPA/WCDMA 900/2100mhz bands so you should be fine as far as that goes.

http://www.nokia.com.au/find-products/all-phones/nokia-6220-classic/sp...

I love the way posters are answering the questions. Will let everyone know how it worked.