I am travelling to NZ from Canada this fall for the RWC and I need some info on using 3G iPad service in NZ. I will be travelling pretty much the length of the country from Kerikeri to Queenstown.
I have found that the best way to use a 3G iPad outside of your home country is to buy a prepaid local MicroSIM card.
What carrier should I use in NZ – my most important criteria is coverage – with cost as being secondary? For some initial reading it looks like Telexom XT is the way to go – is that the general consensus?
How do I get a microSIM card – you can buy them online with a credit card – do you need a NZ based credit card or will my Canadian credit card work? It will be sent to a NZ address – I imagine I can have it sent to the hotel where I will be starting my visit. Do you need to use a credit card to authorize the prepaid service or use iTunes at all to register or set it up?
It looks like buying a microSIM costs $29.95 from XT and gives you $10 credit for data and another $10 when you register online. How much does data cost and what is the easiest way to top-up the card?
Or should I just wait to get to NZ and go to a Telecom shop?
Thanks for your help!
9:42 pm 09/07/11
leStar
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If you have a first gen iPad then yes Telecom XT is the only way to go for nationwide coverage on the 3G band. If you have iPad 2 then Vodafone have arguably equivalent coverage with 900MHz 3G. I would suggest it will be the easiest to go to a telecom store to purchase a prepaid Microsim and get them to set it up with mobile broadband 500MB plan. This will cost you 10cents per meg up to $30 then the next 200MB free. You can get 2GB plan if you need more. They will take any sort of NZ money off you, no need for nz credit card, a Canadian one should be fine. Topping up is a bit awkward on ipad, get them to set you up with a yourtelecom password so you can access your prepay account online. You will need to go into settings>general>network>cell data, and type internet.telecom.co.nz into the APN field for it to work. It may pay to call ahead to confirm that the telecom shop has a Microsim in stock. Have a great holiday in NZ!
7:10 am 11/07/11
leStar
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Edit: Telecom has changed the way they charge for data now. Refer to this link:
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