# Thai cell phones



## Kiniyeow

I've been reading where it seems to be a simple process to buy a cell phone in Thailand, but what has my curiousity up is why does it seem that every phone number starts with 0?

Every number that my wifes family has sent us startes with a 0, and most of you would know that if I started any dialing sequence here in the states with a 0, it would immediatly go to the operator. 

Can someone break down the phone number sequence for me? What would be similar to area code, prefix, extension, what the 0 is for, etc.


----------



## mamasue

Phone enumbers in many countries start with 0.
I lived in both the UK and Egypt...... both my cell and house numbers started with 0.
It's just a number....doesn't connect you to any operator.


----------



## HomeExchange

Yeah I think most countries phone numbers start with 0. A Thai mobile number will be something such as 0877186999 but to call it from outside of Thailand simply drop the "0" and add the international dialing code (+66 for Thailand) i.e. +66877186999

As for getting a top up sim card in Thailand it really is simple. Just go to any 7-11 or Family Mart (about 10 of each on every street!) and ask for a AIS or DTAC (the 2 main mobile operators in Thailand) phone number. I'm not entirely sure of the price but it's around 100baht ($3?). Assuming your phone is unlocked to all neworks simply insert your new Thai sim card and away you go! To top up phone credit just go again to 7-11 or Family Mart and purchase whatever credit you're after (50baht, 100baht, 500baht, etc). If you need to unlock your phone or buy a new phone - a good place to go in Bangkok is MBK shopping center (just ask anyone - they'll know it). 


Mark


----------



## mamasue

I'm in Thailand for a month, so today I got a sim card from 7-11.
It cost 49 baht ($1.50) and I put 150 baht credit (about $5)
Calls and texts are really cheap.... can't remember the rate, but cheap.....sent 2 texts to Uk and the credit's hardly moved!
It's called a TRUE MOVE card.... and the girly in 7-11 even set it up for me....... simple!!


----------



## HomeExchange

It is cheap but the costs of those top ups soon does add up! At first id be adding 100baht at a time but a few texts, a couple of calls and it would be gone in no time... especially if you also start using data on your phone. In fact I'd say that I was spent much more on my phone calls in Thailand than I would back in London. Therefore if you're there for a long period of time it's worth looking into 3, 6 or 12 month phone contracts.


----------

