Australia SIM recommendation?

[ggking7]

Can anyone recommend a SIM for voice and data in the Sydney area? I can get separate SIMs for voice and data if necessary. I'm looking for something that is a good value and also a data connection that is consistently fast.

EDIT: How about AmaySIM?

[inquisitor]

Amaysim has very good data as well as voice tariffs, especially for international calls:
amaysim SIM card - One pure SIM with simple, low mobile rates

But make sure that your handsets supports 3G on 900 and 2100 MHz if you want fast data since these are the frequencies the underlying MNO, Optus, uses.
If your handset supports only American 3G bands (850 and 1900 MHz) you're limited to the 3G networks of Telstra and Vodafone, albeit the latter's 3G coverage on 850MHz is pretty limited (see "Network Zones" tab at Coverage checker - Vodafone Australia).

For an overview of Australian networks and MVNOs including their frequency bands check out Australian Mobile Providers - Carriers & MVNOs | IDD

[Stu]

Watchout for connection ("flag fall") charges on Australian SIMs. Also when you see a value posted like $500 worth of calls. Think of the monetary value as credits or units. What they are saying is that you can use or units for text, voice, or data. Many plans however use artificially high calling rates and connection charges to get to their $500. I've seen domestic mobile calling valued at $0.89 a minute in the worst example.

I like Amaysim and put my brother and his family on it. A great domestic resource on prepaid values is:

http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum/114

[inquisitor]

You should mention that amaysim - as a first in Australia - does not charge those call set-up fees known as "flagfall" down under.

[davidtheprof]

I know we've been criticizing Truphone recently, but their Australia rates are good for voice and data, internally and calling back home, and it worked fine for me last year.

[ggking7]

I set up AmaySIM and I'm loving it so far. Their online user interface and activation process is by far the best I've used anywhere in the world and I've used a lot.

[inquisitor]

Originally Posted by davidtheprof

I know we've been criticizing Truphone recently, but their Australia rates are good for voice and data, internally and calling back home, and it worked fine for me last year.

Truphone charge $0.25/min for local calls, $0.20/min for calls to the US and $ 0.10/MB for data.
Amaysim charge $0.12/min for local calls, $ 0.06/min for calls to the US and $ 0.05/MB for data, while the latter can be reduced to $ <0.01/MB by activating a larger data pack.

[ggking7]

$0.06 to the US??? I paid about $0.10 to call the US from the US with T-Mobile. How can calling the US from Australia be half the cost of calling within Australia?

[dg7feq]

because in australia calls to mobiles are more expensive than calls to landlines (Caller Party Pays). US calls are always billed the same cause you are paying for taking the call on your US mobile (Called Party Pays)...

[Stu]

I have had cheaper calls for calling the US from foreign countries than at home. My Cambodia SIM and my China Mobile HK IDD SIM both were significantly cheaper. 02 UK currently has a deal with either 3,000 or 3,500 minutes (I can't remember) to the US for £10.