Prepaid cards in red China

[gmmour]

Originally Posted by prion

Some info about China prepaid from someone who has recently been there (from another forum).

China mobile prepaid (Shen2 Zhou1 Xing2 SIM Ka3, 神州行 SIM 卡)are the most common and are used by most foreigners in China. The cost of it initially is 60-100 Yuan (~6euro-10euro) and has 50 Yuan in prepaid credit(~5euro). Incoming charges apply which are more if you travel outside the city where your number is based. Generally tarifs are cheap, cheaper than many other countries

Stands where China mobile prepaid cards are to be found in the airport ( in the Capital) and cost approximately 100 Yuan (~10 euros)

And the credits for the above mentioned original on a greek forum go to:
Me!

Well, thanks for translating, I hope I'll have time to write a similar lengthy review of Chinese carriers in english too.

Any questions are welcome. I stayed there for the summer at the Beijing University of Language and Culture and it seems that everybody there worked their way with prepaid calling cards and callback cards and everything to call their home countries!
Anyway, everything is cheap and if you find the right card for you you can call your home country very cheap (voip of course is always free!)

Roaming outside your area is a PITA but anywayz, have fun in China!

Cheers!

[aznrocket88]

Originally Posted by Gryphone

So, here's the (hopefully) final version of my report.
Most importantly: credit server (10086) is free of charge


General Information

• The name of the prepaid offer is "神州行暢聽卡", pronounced Shenzhouxing Changtingka.
• Buying a SIM card is easy, you don't need any ID or whatever.
• SIM cards are linked to a specific city or province (so be sure to get one for the city you'll mainly be staying at), however you don't get a local number, all mobile number's start with (+86)13.
• It costs 100 to 130 RMB, including 50 RMB of credit.
• When actived the SIM-PIN control is offline, your standard SIM-PIN is 1234.
• There is a 6-digit PIN on a seperate card within your package, you'll need this for some service (see below).

Plans

• There are several plans depending on the city (or province), usually there is one which offers you free incoming calls for a monthly charge (16 RMB in Shanghai), the call charges are as following:
• Local calls (within your city) 0,13 RMB/min.
• Long distance calls 0,30 RMB/min.
• For international calls there are several prefixes, depending on which of them you use and where you're calling the charges are different. One of them is 12593, using it you can make calls to i.e. Western Europe for 1,2 RMB/min when using the 12593 prefix.
• Receiving calls within your city is free of charge (no matter from where), elsewhere in China incoming calls from other mobiles cost 0,60 RMB/min, for calls from fixed networks you have to pay 1,30 RMB/min.
• Texts (worldwide) cost 1 RMB
• Initial credit validity is 120 days, when recharging you get: 50 RMB -> 90 days, 100 RMB -> 180 days, 300 RMB -> 360 days and 500 RMB -> 360 days, up to a maximum of 720 days.
• Debiting is by the minute (60/60)

Other services

• the credit server (checking balance, recharging &c.) is located at 10086, when entering the menu for the first time you are asked whether you want it in Chinese or English. However the English pronounciation is quite bad.
• you can also inquire about your card online, there are websites for each city, i.e. Peking or Shanghai, you'll need your telephone number and your PIN to login. However the entire website is Chinese.
• when dialing within your home city you can dial directly without the city prefix, when calling a mobile you start with 13...
• you can't automatically call abroad, this function has to be activated first, if possible at a China Mobile store (bring your PIN), otherwise you can try to this at 10086
• International Roaming is not possible (unless you meet certain conditions, one of them is having been a customers for at least a year)

Data calls

• GPRS is possible and automatically enabled.
• for WAP use these settings: APN=cmwap and IP=10.0.0.172
• for Internet access: APN=cmnet
• It'll cost you 0,03 RMB/kb.
• There are also two monthly options, one will give you 10 MB for 5 RMB, the other 50 MB for 20 RMB. After that you pay 0,01RMB/kb.
• You can activate this options either on the internet page or in a store (be sure to bring your PIN)

I've read elsewhere that there are other plans for GPRS, notably a 800MB plan for 100RMB and a 2000MB plan for 350RMB. Do I absolutely have to go to a store to activate these plans on a prepaid card, if I cannot read or speak Chinese? Also, if I have per se, a Shanghai-region SIM card, will these data plans work in other cities without additional roaming fees?

[carydc]

Ok, I am new to all of this and would like to understand how to use and access the data network once I arrive. I can have my wife get me a SIM Card so she has it when I arrive. I have used ATT there before and it seems the data works but not too sure about Texting.Could someone tell me what this means in plain laymens terms:GPRS is possible and automatically enabled. for WAP use these settings: APN=cmwap and IP=10.0.0.172 <<<---- Has me confused. What do you mean here?for Internet access: APN=cmnet <<<-----What does this mean to me as well? I do not understand the reference. I have been using CDMA for too long with Sprint and Treos from 300, 600, 650, 700p, 755p. So the GSM is completely new and the terms foreign as a language is.It'll cost you 0,03 RMB/kb. There are also two monthly options, one will give you 10 MB for 5 RMB, the other 50 MB for 20 RMB. After that you pay 0,01RMB/kb. You can activate this options either on the internet page or in a store (be sure to bring your PIN)

[carydc]

Also could someone post updated and recent rates and plans for China from both China Mobile and the other options. I am looking for the best deal on data and text. Calling will be limited but I am aware I will be doing it.

Regards,

Cary