# Cell Phone



## jrendon

My daughter is going to be going to school in Nagasaki for six months in September. What is the best solution for using a phone? She'd prefer it to be a smartphone but she will have her laptop with wifi, so Line will still continue to work. She normally uses an iPhone but I don't want to pay roaming charges (even with AT&T package, it's stupid expensive).

I briefly looked into a sim card but I didn't quite understand the 5gb/10day . Does anyone have experience in this and can offer a few suggestions?

thanks,


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## BBCWatcher

She's got at least a couple options, but first here are the basic requirements:

0. If she is bringing her own device (an AT&T iPhone, for example), she needs to make sure any SIM lock on the device is removed. AT&T provides unlocking service here (if the device is eligible, and based on her contract status with AT&T, if any). Also, any device she wants to use in Japan must be compatible with 3G (UMTS) in the 2100 MHz band -- at least that. Support for other bands and technologies is a bonus, but 3G on 2100 works.

OK, as far as service I can think of four reasonable options:

1. She switches to T-Mobile (and perhaps even keeps her U.S. phone number) and chooses their lowest cost Simple Choice plan, with a credit check. That plan is month-to-month, so she can switch carriers again when she returns, if she wishes. Any unlocked AT&T phone is compatible with T-Mobile in the U.S. (if that matters). She brings her phone to Japan, and then she enjoys unlimited text messaging (in and out) and unlimited data at "2G" speeds at no additional charge -- good enough for checking e-mail, Facebook, using a mapping application, or even (usually) placing a Voice over IP call (e.g. FaceTime audio). Traditional voice calling, in or out, is subject to a fairly hefty per minute charge, so voice calling is best avoided.

2. If she prefers an Android device, T-Mobile is still an option, but Google's "Project Fi" costs a bit less if her data use is merely "reasonable." She can buy a Google Nexus device with Project Fi service before she goes.

3. Alternatively, she can obtain a prepaid SIM card from Softbank in Japan. (And perhaps also from NTT DoCoMo, but Softbank tends to be easier for foreigners to navigate.) Details are available in this brochure. She can even buy the SIM card at the Softbank booth at the airport when she arrives. (Usually, depending on the hours of operation.) The cost is 3,000 yen. (No need to buy more -- she can recharge the SIM whenever she needs to.) The brochure explains everything pretty well but, briefly, these services are low cost: receiving text messages (free), receiving traditional voice calls while in Japan (free), e-mail in/out using the Softbank e-mail address assigned to the phone (what Softbank calls "S! Mail Unlimited Mail," at a cost of 286 yen plus tax per 30 days). Outgoing voice calls are expensive, and data (except for handset e-mail) is expensive. Softbank does not support sending SMS text messages to non-Softbank handsets -- only e-mail (S! Mail) works outbound. (This is pretty typical in Japan. Japan introduced "full" e-mail a long time ago while most of the rest of the world adopted SMS, so the Japanese carriers don't really support SMS very well.)

If she only wants incoming voice and incoming SMS service then 3,000 yen is all she needs to pay. She'll lose whatever is left of her 3,000 SIM card balance after 60 days, but the SIM will remain active for up to 360 days for those two free incoming services.

4. There's also a "hybrid" option, meaning she could do both. For example, she could bring an unlocked iPhone with a T-Mobile Simple Choice (with credit check) SIM to Japan and use that for data and SMS while she's out and about. To get a Japanese mobile number (for incoming voice calls only) she could buy a "dumb" prepaid phone from Softbank and carry that around for her 6 month stay. Currently Softbank's 301Z is their lowest cost "dumb" phone (it appears), and it does support English menus (and Japanese of course if she wants to give that a try ). The 301Z costs 6,458 yen (plus tax perhaps) to buy outright, and that includes 4,000 yen of prepaid value (to make some outgoing phone calls). Once she's done she can sell the 301Z for a couple dollars on eBay. (It won't be worth much. It only works in Japan, and it's locked to Softbank.)

A variation on that is to bring a second, cheap, unlocked 3G/2100 MHz phone for voice calling only and get a 3,000 yen SIM. A "dumb" Nokia, for example. Taking a look at Amazon right now, the Nokia 311 at $49.99 is a good candidate in this role. Or even a used Nokia 603 at $29.99 currently. Those are both very good "beater" phones for global roaming, and they would both work in Japan -- and anywhere else her travels take her.


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## BBCWatcher

One further point that occurs to me. Talking on a mobile phone in public when there are other people around is considered quite rude. An audible mobile phone (ringing, sound effects, playing music that's others can hear, etc.) is also rude in public -- the phone should be set to vibrate or silent. Handset e-mail, Web browsing, app usage (such as playing games with no sound effects or with earphones), and listing to music or podcasts with earphones are all compatible with Japanese norms when you're out in public.


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## jrendon

Thank you so much for your suggestion. We went with the T-Mobile solution. Which seemed to be the best option for her.


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