Locked Phones
Major carriers lock their prepaid phones. The only exception has been Vodafone. In Australia two types of SIM locks are commonly employed — network lock and service provider lock (SP lock). That means only SIM cards issued by the carriers will work with their respective phones.
CDMA phones are permanently locked for all practical purposes because your mobile number is programmed into the phone.
A few years ago, call rates of prepaid were relatively higher than their counterparts in post-paid plans. However, in recent years they have become cheaper. For most carriers, call rates change with the amount you recharge. Higher the recharge amount, lower the call rates.
Remember: Per-second billing applies only for standard calls. Most carriers offer special call rates or free time where per-second charging does not apply. If you are a high user, such as a business user, where you have to make calls to different networks at different times of the day, you may save a lot if you go on per-second charging.
Recharge Amounts/ Credit Validity Period
The validity of credit varies with carriers and can last from one month to a year with most carriers. Most carriers make you recharge with higher amounts for longer expiry dates.
Credit Rollover
The answer depends on which carrier you are with. In other words, existing credit does not roll over. However, if you are with Vodafone or 3, your existing credit rolls over to the new expiry date. Existing credit is not lost as long as you recharge before the expiry date.
Checking Balance
Does you carrier tell you the balance and expiry date whenever you recharge? Does your carrier charge you for checking the balance? Almost all carriers tell you the balance when you recharge and do not charge you a cent for checking the balance. The only exception is Virgin.
Voicemail
Voicemail involves two components — deposits and retrievals. Most carriers will give you free deposits, but charge you for retrievals. Some charge you for both.
For many prepaid customers, voicemail is not important because they just turn their voicemail off.
Trivia
Have you memorised your mobile phone number? Many people suffer from memory lapse when you ask them their mobile phone number. This phenomenon is especially noticeable in people who recently obtained their mobile number and didn’t have time to commit the number to memory. Is there any way of knowing your mobile phone number other than by memorising it or carrying it on a piece of paper?
No. Despite technological advances, there is no simple way to find your mobile phone number. One way to find it is call a friend and get the number from his call records. You still need to write it down or try remembering it.
Another option is store this number into your phone book. That is, whenever you obtain a new mobile number, you should add a contact in your phone book called “Me” along with the phone number. That way, you can always give out your number when someone asks. In case you didn’t know, you can scroll your phone book while you are on the phone talking. To know more about locked phones, just get in touch with expert customer executives at BT contact number.
