Mobile Phone Guide #8: Renting and Roaming

So you are planning a short trip to Japan but you don't want to invest in a pre-paid phone and a contract is out of the question? 


Never fear, there is another way (two, in fact)- the Japanese rent-a-phone, and overseas roaming.

Rental SIMs

There are two basic types of rental services: rental SIMs and rental handsets. 


The former is simply a SIM card that you borrow and stick in your W-CDMA enabled phone. 


This option requires that you have a phone that is compatible with Japanese frequencies (2.1ghz) which includes most non-North American phones. North American users (Mexico, Canada, USA, etc) must make sure they use a phone that is compatible with this bandwidth as opposed to the non-standard frequency used in that area of the world (usually 1.9ghz). Consult your phone manual. 


Also keep in mind that unless you handset is Japanese then you may not be able to use many services like text and mail. 


Reantal handsets
Rental handsets are simply a phone and SIM package that does not require you to bring your own phone.

Many of the major phone companies like NTT DoCoMo and Softbank have their own services with counters located at most major international airports. You can pick up an order or sign up the day of arival. 


There are other third party companies like Rentafone Japan, Cellular Abroad, and Japan Cell Rentals offer services such as blackberry rentals, mobile data rentals, delivery to overseas address, and even sending the kit right to your hotel. The per minute rates, reservation fees, length of contracts, and services available differ widely by company so do you research. 


Often, companies with higher reservation fees charge less for calls and some companies don't allow for internet and texting unless you pay more cash. For the most part incoming calls are free.

Payment

One thing that all of the rental phone and SIM services have in common is that they only accept credit cards. Most companies will place a temporary credit hold ranging from 100-300 USD as a short of temporary escrow to make sure you don't skip out on your bill so don't be surprised to find a big chunk of cash taken out of your debit account or credit line, but you can expect to get this back if you behave yourself.

Roaming

An alternative to renting. Many networks around the world have agreements with one or more Japanese service providers to offer service while allowing you to keep your local number active. However, what services are available, cost, and terms all vary widely by carrier. Do your research.

The downside to roaming is that it can be very, very expensive. If you have a smart phone make sure to disable the data services overseas because these phones are always checking for e-mails and using data even when they are on stand-by.

Well that just about concludes AccessJ's mobile phone super feature. If you have any other mobile phone related topics you would like to see covered don't hesitate to drop a line!

Other posts in this series:

Part #1: The Basics

Part #2: Important Paperwork

Part #3: Pre-Paid Phones
Part #4: Post-Paid Phones 
Part #5: Paying Your Bills

Part #6: Mobile E-mail Guide

Part #7: Multi-Lingual Phones

Part #8: Renting and Roaming

Mobile Phone Guide #7: Multilingual phones

Reading all the Japanese characters on a mobile phone menu can be challenging for even the most seasoned of Japanese speakers. But fear not, as many Japanese phones often come with the ability to switch between Japanese and English menus. 



These phones are usually labeled as “bilingual” (バイリンガル if you are looking for the katakana) on the catalog listing and clerks will be able to easily point out which phones can function in English. However, keep in mind that some advanced features may only be available in Japanese (including pre-loaded applications) and mobile internet portals are almost always Japanese only. Also, as a general rule, billing and billing websites are usually only available in Japanese.

If your first language isn’t English and you don’t feel totally comfortable in it or Japanese then you might be out of luck. However, the iPhone as well as some handsets utilizing Google’s Android operating system can utilize a multitude of languages. 


As manufacturers can chose what features to use under Android, it is entirely possible that some smart phones lack multi-lingual capabilities (although in the authors experience most seem to have English and Japanese). 


Softbank has offered a traditional phone with Korean input but that seems to be discontinued.

Our next and final article will cover Japanese "rent-a-phones" and roaming for those of your who are interested in a less complex, short-term solution to your communication woes. 

Other posts in this series:

Part #1: The Basics

Part #2: Important Paperwork

Part #3: Pre-Paid Phones
Part #4: Post-Paid Phones 
Part #5: Paying Your Bills

Part #6: Mobile E-mail Guide

Part #7: Multi-Lingual Phones

Part #8: Renting and Roaming

Mobile Phone Guide #6: Mobile e-mail

The first thing that most people notice about Japanese mobiles is how people use them more as e-mail devices and mini-web browsers than actual phones. Mobile phone mail (携帯メール keitai meru, or simply meru) has been a staple of the Japanese phone market long before the advent of BlackBerries and iPhones. While having a mail address on your phone may seem like a silly novelty, it is actually petty handy for directly contacting people all over the world. 

In today’s installment of our mobile phone super-guide we'll look at Japanese mobile-phone mail.

Users with PCs can email mobiles and vice-versa, hence the popularity. 

Mobile email popularity could also be attributed to the well above-average costs of phonecalls. So don’t count on your new-found friends to call you regularly for chit-chats. 


Almost every modern e-mail enabled phone comes with a full list of still and animated e-moji or emoticons, some of which are so cute that they will make your eyes bleed while others are just odd, like Softbank’s smiling poop. Even for relatively serious business e-mails, don’t be surprised to find your colleges inserting cute little simile faces and bowing man animations. Phones often have a whole suite of decoration, colorings, and animations preloaded in the phone to make your e-mails extra super sparkly.


Even though you may be tempted to skip on the data-transfer part of your mobile phone plan, you may soon regret it when sending emails takes it's toll.

Picking a Mail and Exchanging Mail

When you sign up for a new contract, the staff will generally ask you to pick a unique mail name (although you can change this at will). Unlike phone numbers, you cannot carry e-mail addresses when switching companies.

It is not unusual for Japanese people to chose very, very long email names complete with numbers letters and smiley faces. Luckily you can avoid having to type these out as most phones come with an infrared port called seki gaisen (赤外線) that allow for phones to exchange data at short ranges. Look for a little black oval and matching it up with your partner’s oval. Luckily, this process is universal amongst all providers. However, if you are too cool for the regular keitai crowd and have an iPhone or smart phone then you may find yourself having to type everything.

SMS

As we touched on earlier, SMS never really caught on in Japan. Although most phones are theoretically capable of it, free in-country SMS is often limited to within the same network. However, as of July, 2011, a new inter-network messaging system has been introduced allowing for cross carrier SMS. Keep in mind that these SMS messages are not free. 

Most mobile phone companies have deals with overseas providers that allows you to send SMS overseas and receive them although often this costs a significant amount (100 yen and up) per message sent and, in some cases, for messages received.

More

• Japanese phones are what are known as “always on” or constantly checking the local network for mails, service updates, and so on. So if you do go over seas, it is best to turn off your data roaming lest you want to find an unusually large bill upon your return. 


• Also, be as cautious of spam as you would be anywhere else.

Provider	Service Name	Mail Suffix
NTT DoCoMo	iMode	@docomo.ne.jp
au	EZ Web	@ezweb.ne.jp
Softbank	Yahoo! Keitai	@softbank.ne.jp @i.softbank.jp (iPhone)
Willcom	N/A	@willcom.com
E Mobile	EM Net	@emnet.ne.jp

Table of Japanese cellphone email addresses.

Check back next week for our AccessJ feature on how to get multilingual phones in Japan.

Other posts in this series:

Part #1: The Basics

Part #2: Important Paperwork

Part #3: Pre-Paid Phones
Part #4: Post-Paid Phones 
Part #5: Paying Your Bills

Part #6: Mobile E-mail Guide

Part #7: Multi-Lingual Phones

Part #8: Renting and Roaming

Mobile Phone Guide #5: Paying your bills

Although Japan is well know for its stodgy and, some might say, not exactly customer friendly financial institutions, there are plenty of ways to pay your phone bill without even setting foot in a bank. Just follow our fool-proof guide to paying for your wireless service and you will never have to worry about finding your phone shut down and the debt collectors knocking on your door.

Payment Method	How to Pay
Credit Card	Register a Japanese or home country card
Bank Transfer	Using a personal Japanese bank account
Pay by Institution	Major convenience stores, mobile phone shops and banks
Pay-Easy	ATMs displaying the PayEasy mark and compatible Internet banking service

All mobile phone providers accept major credit cards, automatic bank transfer, and pay-by-institution. Both overseas and domestic cards can be used in most cases. However, you should double check with your local card issuer if you are paying with a non-Japanese credit card to prevent your account being flagged and locked as fraudulent due to “suspicious” overseas transactions.

Bank Transfers

If you wish to pay via automatic bank transfer (自動振込 jidou furikoumi), make sure to bring a bank book, personal seal, and/or bank card. Many large banks such as Mitsubishi UFJ, Yucho, Mizuho and others have deals with major providers that require only your bank card and PIN number to sign up for bank transfer.


Make sure your name (as written in roman characters) and your katakana spelling are the same on your bank book as they are on your mobile phone contract. Also, setting up a bank transfer can take anywhere from 2 weeks to a month provided there are no errors or problems with your application, the most common of which are discrepancies or misspellings in your katakana name and/or an illegible seal imprint. Your mobile provider will send you a notice in the mail if there are any problems with the application. If you set up bank transfer via a card and pin number then the processing time should only be a business day or two.

In Cash

As far as pay-by-institution is concerned, the company will send you a bill that can be paid in cash at a bank, convenience store, or at the company’s local store/outlet. In some cases, in order to make a contract, the shop may require that you register your bank account and/or credit card for at least one year. Keep in mind that, in most cases, these bills must be paid with cash only, even if the institution you are paying at accepts credit cards. Also, bills that are past their due date cannot be processed and you must wait for a follow up bill that usually includes penalty interests or late fees. 


Finally, if you pay via this method don`t forget to change your address when you move. Even if you use mail forwarding, it only lasts for one year and eventually your bills will stop coming. Address changes can be completed online or simply go to your local retailer with a valid ID and ask for a change.

Pay-Easy

Finally there is the “Pay-Easy” method. Pay-Easy is essentially an alliance of various companies, public agencies, and financial institutions who have teamed up to allow you to pay your bills at the ATM or via internet banking. So far, only NTT DoCoMo offers this service but other providers may follow suit. Basically all you need to do is take your bill and bank card to a Pay-Easy-enabled ATM (usually these are marked with decals or stickers--see below) or internet banking service, type in your customer and billing numbers and either insert the money directly into the ATM or have it deducted from your account. Unfortunately the on-screen instructions are all in Japanese and a full description of how to use the service goes beyond the scope of this article. However, the PayEasy trade group offers a handy guide easily accessible for anyone who can read intermediate to advanced Japanese.

The Pay-Easy logo as found on compatible bills and ATMs

As usual, check back for our next mobile phone installment where we will show you how to use one of the most popular features of Japanese mobile phones, mobile e-mail.

Other posts in this series:

Part #1: The Basics

Part #2: Important Paperwork

Part #3: Pre-Paid Phones
Part #4: Post-Paid Phones 
Part #5: Paying Your Bills

Part #6: Mobile E-mail Guide

Part #7: Multi-Lingual Phones

Part #8: Renting and Roaming

Mobile Phone Guide #4: Contracts

The most popular phone option by far in Japan is getting a contract plan from a major provider. 


Read all about it.

In the past, mobile phone companies were more than happy to subsidize a handset provided you promised to stay with them for about 2 years. However, as mobile number portability (MNP) was introduced (see our other article on MNP) and phone penetration hit nearly 100 percent, the incentive to attract a dwindling number of fresh customers with fancy free or nearly free handsets has declined. Most mobile phone providers, instead of giving the handset away for nothing, divide the payment over a 12 to 24 month period depending on the length of your contract, making you pay a bit of the phone every time you pay the bill. Of course, if you don’t want to make the multi-month commitment then you can buy the phone outright but be prepared to shell out 40,000-70,000 yen. Japanese phones may be feature filled and flashy but the certainly are not cheap. However, if you aren’t a technophile then some shops offer free or nearly-free phones in order to get rid of older or outdated models.


Also, keep in mind that when you sign a contract you are liable for early termination fees as well as paying off the money you owe for your phone. These fees generally start at 5000 yen and go up depending on the length of the contract, terms, conditions, etc. So don't be surprised to shell out over 10,000 yen if you cancel early. 

There are a two basic components to the basic Japanese mobile phone plan which you can see below:

     A) Calling Plan/Tariff

The first is the calling plan itself, of which there are several varieties. One of the more popular plans is Softbank’s “white plan” that is essentially a 980 yen a month plan with no free talk time included. From 1am to 9pm calls to other Softbank subscribers are free and all other calls are billed at a rate of 21 yen per 30 seconds regardless of who you call. There is also a slightly more expensive “Double White Plan” that has a higher basic fee but lower per minute cost. Other providers have similar plans and, if you sign a contract of one to two years, then you may be eligible for promotions such as a month or two of free service or unlimited calls.

More conventional plans tend to include “free yen” allotted to calling time. After the free yen is used up then extra charges are tacked on. These plans often charge differently based upon the termination point (i.e. where you are calling) with mobile to land line calls being the most expensive. In some cases, its actually significantly cheaper to call overseas than it is to call domestically! Many companies allow to add extra services such as paying extra to call designated numbers for a reduced per minute rate. Also, keep in mind that most plans do not include voice mail, call waiting, and call forwarding and must be purchased separately for about 300 yen per item or in a pack. Most handsets have built in recording systems but those only work when connected to a network.

     B) Mobile Data and E-mail

The next charge is for mobile internet. The most famous brand of mobile internet is NTT DoCoMo’s iMode service. For a small subscription fee (usually 300 yen or so), this service allows you to connect to the mobile web, use an e-mail address (see below), and access normal internet sites. The amount of data you use determines your bill and Japanese phones use a weird measurement which is called a “packet” (about 128 bytes) which is used as a standard billing unit. Normally, one packed is a yen or less but with all the mailing and surfing you will inevitably be doing, this adds up super fast, especially considering that Japanese mobile phone e-mails (see below) are chalked full of flashy animations and pictures. Therefore, most providers offer a “pake-hodai” plan that effectively allows for unlimited use. The most common type of plan is a tiered data plan that starts off at a relatively low number (500-1000 yen typically) and goes up to a maximum (4000-6000 yen or so) based on a preset cost per packet. 


Even if you hit the upper limit, you can keep using without worrying about getting charged further. So basically, if you use a lot of packets then you will top out at the max price level and if you are packet frugal then you can keep your bill extra cheap. This measurement includes internet and regular mail, keeping in mind that phone companies often distinguish between specialized mobile phone only websites and regular everyday sites (often called “full browser”). Some carriers have a higher max cap for non-mobile specific websites.

Furthermore, now that smart phones are all the rage these days (think Android, iPhone, Black Berry, etc), many carriers have the option of a “flat packet” service where you pay a fixed price for unlimited usage. As a matter of fact, many carriers require this option if you are planning on using a smart phone and often it is a bit more economical if you find yourself constantly hitting your top packet price on the pake-hodai plans.

As usual, stay tuned for our next mobile phone installment where we show you how to pay your bills.

Other posts in this series:

Part #1: The Basics

Part #2: Important Paperwork

Part #3: Pre-Paid Phones
Part #4: Post-Paid Phones 
Part #5: Paying Your Bills

Part #6: Mobile E-mail Guide

Part #7: Multi-Lingual Phones

Part #8: Renting and Roaming

Mobile Phone Guide #3: Pre-Paid Phones

In many countries around the world, prepaid (or pay-as-you-go) mobile phones are by far the most popular choice since you can simply buy a prepaid SIM (Subscriber Identity Module, a fancy word for that little plastic card you pop into the back of your phone), put some money on it and call/text away to your heart’s content. 


Unfortunately, in Japan prepaid phones are very much in the minority, although they are popular amongst foreign students, travelers and tourists who plan to be here less than a year. However, there is pretty much only one company left that offers full service prepaid, which is Softbank.The primary competitor is au but the range of services is significantly more limited.


Read on...

The advantage of prepaid is, as the name implies, no locking into a contract. Softbank offers a few phone models, all relatively basic by Japanese standards, but functional. au also has a similar set of basic phones to choose from. Handsets can cost anywhere from 5000-10,000 yen and they are all unsubsidized (i.e. you have to buy them yourself, no help from the company) and come with a very small amount of preloaded money. Like all Japanese phones, incoming calls are free but outgoing domestic calls are billed at a rate of 9 yen per 6 seconds (yes, that’s right, I said every six seconds) regardless of whom you call. au offers a not so competative rate of 10 yen per 6 seconds.

Even though talking is expensive, Softbank offers free short mail (their version of SMS) to other Softbank subscribers and for 300 yen a month you get unlimited mobile e-mail (which we will cover in a later post). You can refill your phone online at Softbank’s website via credit card, purchase refill cards in a convince store, or pay for points at a bank ATM. Cards come in 3,000 and 5,000 yen varieties, but money on your account will expire if you do not refill at least once every 60 days. Even if you let your balance expire, however, the phone number on your SIM card will be reserved for your future use up to 12 months after your last recharge. You can continue to receive phone calls and SMS messages (but not mobile e-mails) on a prepaid phone with no balance for that 12 month period. Unlike contract (post-paid) phones, Softbank prepaid phones cannot roam overseas. 


On the other hand, au only lets you use basic calling and "c-mail" (50 yen per message) which is kind of like an in-network only SMS. There is no mobile data or e-mail plan, making your phone pretty much a call-only device. Like Softbank, au sells prepaid cards in 3,000 and 5,000 yen blocks not to mention a 10,000 yen card if you are feeling really extravagant. You can pick these up at au shops and select convenience stores depending on your region. Each card lasts for 60, 90, and 365 days respectively with a reregistration period of 90 days after your service lapses. Unlike softbank, you cannot recharge online or at ATMs and attemptiong to reactivate a phone after the 90 day period will result in a 4,000 yen fee. Like Softbank phones, they cannot roam over seas.

For more info, check out Softbank’s English website here or au's English website here. And stay tuned for our next installment where we will lay out the finer points of getting a standard post-paid contract.

Other posts in this series:

Part #1: The Basics

Part #2: Important Paperwork

Part #3: Pre-Paid Phones
Part #4: Post-Paid Phones 
Part #5: Paying Your Bills

Part #6: Mobile E-mail Guide

Part #7: Multi-Lingual Phones

Part #8: Renting and Roaming

Mobile Phone Guide #2: Important Paperwork

One of the most common mistakes that foreigners make is waltzing into a phone shop and expecting to get a phone only a few days after their arrival. Until recently, this was theoretically possible, but thanks to the Improper Mobile Phone Usage Prevention Law (携帯電話不正利用防止法 keitai denwa fusei riyo boshiho)—another law passed with the excuse of cracking down on all those terrorists just waiting to get their filthy hands on phones in Japan—you have to present valid ID to prove you are who you say you are.

According to the Telecommunication Carriers Association (TCA), there are several generally acceptable IDs which I will list below:

a)      A Japanese driver’s license (international licenses aren’t valid in this case)

b)      A Japanese passport

c)      A Japanese health insurance certificate plus one of the following:

I.                 a copy of your address register (住民票 jyuminhyo) or Certificate of Registered Matters if you are a foreigner (外国人登録原票記載事項証明書 gaikokujin toroku genpyo jisai jiko shomeisho),

II.               a public utility receipt in your name and with your address,

III.            an official printed document with your name and address (tax form, etc).
All of the above must be no older the 3 months.

d)      A credit card and a health insurance certificate

e)      A school ID card (from a domestic university or vocational school) and a Japanese health insurance certificate

f)        A mentally or physically disabled person passbook (障害者手帳 shogaisha techo)

g)      An alien registration card (外国人登録証明書 gaikokujin toroku shomiesho) and foreign passport

Keep in mind the legal age for signing a contract is 20, so if you are younger then you may find yourself in a bind as your parents have to co-sign and present one of the above ID combinations. If your parents aren’t Japanese then you had better start begging and/or giving sad gaijin eyes. Despite the basic ID requirements some less scrupulous shops have been known to bend this rule or simply forge signatures, although this is certainly not a regular practice.

The biggest problem with this is that after application the alien registration card generally take 2 weeks to get printed, although you can get a Certificate of Registered Maters for about 300 yen the day of your registration. So unless you are good at smooth talking or find a shop willing to bend the rules (a difficult proposition since the shop usually has to ask the main company for approval), then you are out of luck. Also, if you are here for only a few months, chances are you don’t have a visa and don’t have an alien card. Although tourists who are here for 90 days or more are obliged to get a card, it is all but worthless unless you have a status of residence (在留資格 zairyu shikaku) such as worker, spouse, etc. However, it is possible to rent a cell phone at major airports. These short-term agreements will be handled in a future entry.

The law makes no distinction between pre and post paid phones but in practice it is much easier to get a prepaid phone with a passport and a receipt that shows where you are staying. Since prepaid service is a lot less risky for the phone company if you choose to skip out on your bill and head back home, many shops will be less strict with the ID process, although different shops and different areas often yield vastly different results.

Now that you know what you need to buy yourself a nice shiny phone stay tuned for our next feature on the pre-paid versus post-paid mobile phone breakdown!

Other posts in this series:

Part #1: The Basics

Part #2: Important Paperwork

Part #3: Pre-Paid Phones
Part #4: Post-Paid Phones 
Part #5: Paying Your Bills

Part #6: Mobile E-mail Guide

Part #7: Multi-Lingual Phones

Part #8: Renting and Roaming

Mobile Phone Guide #1: Basics

Today begins Access J’s latest installment featuring a comprehensive guide to purchasing your very own mobile phone. If you are fresh off the boat or just curious about the local market, have no fear, we have you covered.

Japan has long been a land known for its extravagant mobile phones, replete with GPS, high-spec cameras, extra large screens, and all sorts of doo-dads. What's more, the Japanese mobile phone market is possibly one of the most unique and (some might argue) isolated markets in the world. Japanese phones (携帯電話), or keitai denwa (often shortened to simply 携帯 keitai) utilize many features not found in many other parts of the world and, therefore, are largely unusable outside of the Japanese market. Some big differences are:

•   Japanese phones are almost always “SIM-locked” meaning that if you change carriers you must change phones and bringing your own phone is a no-no. Kind of inconvenient, but limits phone-theft, amongst other things.

• There are several competing technologies used by the big mobile networks, not all of which are global standards.

• The use of mobile web, e-mail, and applications (which we will cover later) is almost ubiquitous, so much so that phone e-mail is used instead of traditional short text messaging

Since landlines are expensive—although thanks to fiber optics, this is changing—and the mobile phone is the nexus of socialization in Japan, you should, like, probably get one. Or you could just do what one of our other writers did and rely on your girlfriend to do all the social networking for you, until she gets sick of it.

Major Mobile Phone Providers in Japan

Company	Technology	Subscribers	Pre-paid?
NTT DoCoMo	WCDMA 2.1ghz	58.01 million	no
au	CDMA 800mhz	33 million	yes (limited access)
Softbank	WCDMA 2.1ghz	25.41 million	yes
Wilcom	PHS 1.4ghz	3.75 million	no
E Mobile	WCDMA 1.7ghz	3.12 million	no

First and foremost, there are three main phone companies used by most Japanese: NTT DoCoMo, au, and Softbank. These carriers cover pretty much the whole country and even the country side is well serviced my most providers, although NTT DoCoMo is particularly renown for its high level of coverage. NTT DoCoMo has long been the dominant provider although recent competition from rivals has brought down its commanding lead. Thanks in part to its status as the exclusive iPhone provider, Softbank (formally Vodafone Japan) has been stealing away customers at a relatively fast clip.

The other two remaining providers are Wilcom and E Mobile, both of which service relatively specialized areas. Wilcom caters to business with free in-network calling and low cost, simple to use handsets while E Mobile focuses on reselling its radio spectrum to 3^rd parties and mobile computer broadband users. Both companies have coverage that focuses almost exclusively on big cities. At time of writing Softbank has been in talks to acquire a majority share in Wilcom as the company has been losing customers at rapid pace and its financial stability is questionable.

Unlike Europe, where most companies use a technology called GSM and its more advanced cousin, W-CDMA, Japan has several standards in play, all mutually incompatible. This means that your handset is effectively tied to your carrier and even if you pop the SIM out, you are still out of luck. Moreover, even though Softbank and NTT DoCoMo use the same technology on the same frequency they have no roaming agreements that allow you to “borrow” or roam on a rival network where there is no native service and their phones are fixed to a specific company branded SIM. To add to the confusion, E Mobile uses the same technology but on a different radio band, requiring special phones. au, on the other hand, uses CDMA technology which is rarely used outside of the US, Canada, and Korea. However, this particular brand of CDMA uses a unique frequency combination and cannot be used internationally unless a specific world phone is purchased. NTT DoCoMo and Softbank utilize a relatively global standard and radio frequency that allows for international roaming (although some older W-CDMA phones by DoCoMo are incapable of roaming due to hardware quirks). Confused yet? Don’t worry it gets better….kind of…

Stay tuned to AccessJ for our upcoming installments where we will show you how to go about purchasing a phone at your local shop as well as the ins and outs of a typical Japanese mobile phone plan and even how to use your fancy new phone to socialize with all your friends! Part two arrives crisp and new next Friday.


Other Mobile Phone posts:

1. Mobile Number Portability


2. Requesting an MNP Reservation Number 

Other posts in this series:

Part #1: The Basics

Part #2: Important Paperwork

Part #3: Pre-Paid Phones
Part #4: Post-Paid Phones 
Part #5: Paying Your Bills

Part #6: Mobile E-mail Guide

Part #7: Multi-Lingual Phones

Part #8: Renting and Roaming