Planning to come to Thailand for business or just for a vacation? You will want to have a cell phone to use while here.  Thailand has a modern GSM based cell system that will handle, calls, email, SMS messages and internet accesses.

Unlocked Quad Band GMS World Phone                                       Everyone Uses Cell Phones Here

A smart thing to do is to purchase a GSM Thai Sim card for your phone needs before coming to Thailand. It is a very  intelligent alternative to traditional, high-cost worldwide cellular roaming communications. Below is a brief overview which illustrates how inexpensive and simple it can be to make and receive cellular calls while in Thailand.

The reason for purchasing your GSM Sim before coming here is simply, you will want to give people your phone number before you leave home. Also if you have your phone working when you land at the airport it can be very helpful.

A Thai GSM Sim Card allows you to take advantage of the local cell phone rates within Thailand, and to how a local number to receive and make calls while traveling around the country. Unlike purchasing a so called worldwide sim card or paying expensive roaming rates through your current cell phone provider. Local Sim Cards give you the best rates. Outgoing call rates are just a few Bhat (Thai Money) per minute, even for international calls back to the USA. A added savings is that you get unlimited, free incoming calls to your cell phone regardless of the call origin.  To Purchase a pre-paid Thailand Sim card please Check Here

 The credit-card sized SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) card has a pop-out chip that fits into your GSM (Global System for Mobile communication) phone. Note the golden square on the SIM chip. This goes face-down to make contact with sensors on the phone.

Here's How it Works  The SIM card is the "brain" of the phone. It has a small computer chip embedded into the plastic that stores the cell phone number, settings, messages and other data necessary for the handset to function. The cards also store available call credit information and come with some call credit at the time of purchase. To use, just  insert the SIM card "chip" you purchase into your GSM cell phone and you are ready to make and receive cell phone calls abroad. If you already own an unlocked GSM cell phone, you only need to purchase the appropriate SIM card for the country or countries where you travel. The SIM "chip" fits into a slot or tray where metal sensors make contact with the gold contact surface on the SIM card.

Please note that Thai GSM Sim cards only work with unlocked GSM phones that are compatible for use overseas, most dual-band GSM phones will not work, you will need a tri-band versions, or quad-band GSM Phone. Currently in the United States T-Mobile and Cingular offer phones that will support Asian Sim Cards but they need to be unlocked.

Pre-paid Thai GSM Sim Card
Three main companies provide these sim cards within Thailand at this time. AIS 1 2 Call, DTAC, and True.  With pre-paid calling, you are always know your phone expenses and there are no heart attacks when you receive your phone bill. Your SIM card will come with a base number of call credits. When you have used up this credit or whenever you want to add more to the existing amount, you can rechargethe SIM card in your phone by purchasing a recharge voucher card at a local convenience outlet such as a magazine stand, tobacco shop, 7/11-type store or at the corresponding phone store. These are sold in denominations from 50 THB to 1500THB. Recharge Cards are available for purchase Here

1 2 Call 300 Baht Recharge Card

The company that I recommend is AIS 1 2 Call, it is the largest provider within Thailand offers great service and low rates.  All cell number in Thailand start with 08, for example 08x xxx xxxx. You do need to know a few simple things to much using your phone here easy.

First you need to have a unlocked phone that takes GSM Sim cards and has the 900MHz band. This in the band use throughout most of Asia. It is not the band used in North America, so you will need to have a tri-band or quad-band phone.

Once here place the Sim card into your phone, and dial *120 then press send or call on your phone. You will here a recorded voice, first speaking Thai and then in Ehglish, it will asked you to select option 2 for English. Just press the two key on the phone and your Sim Card and service is active and ready to make or receive calls.

A few important numbers to know are *120 to add more airtime to your phone, and *121 to check the balance of airtime left on your phone.

The International country code for Thailand is 66, so anyone calling you from outside of Thailand need to add 66 before your number. Very important, if your phone is being called from outside of Thailand the caller must drop the 0 at the start of your number. So a US / Canada caller would dial 011 (International Access) plus 668x-xxx-xxxx.

If you want to call the US or Canada from your cell phone here in Thailand, you need to dial a international access code; 001 or 008 or 009 and then 1 (area code) (number). So for example to call a phone in Boston, Ma. You would dial 001-1-617-xxx-xxxx. The cost of placing calls is different for each access code; 001, is the best working and works with all numbers but cost the most per minute, 008 is the least costly per minute but does not always work, 009 cost a little more than 008 but not all numbers work. I would start with 008, then 009, and use 001 last.

You can call USA 800 numbers from your cell phone, but you will pay for the airtime. A 800 number would be 001-1-800-xxx-xxxx.

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