3 Hong Kong?

I think it's probably time to replace Mr. Hutchinson SIM card... I'll be in HK next month and the networks have changed so much that I'm going to buy a new SIM card.

Is 3 Hong Kong reasonably good? The prices are good online, and the IDD 1968 dialling plan is unbelievably cheap (US$0.04 per minute international long distance to the US off-peak, which is on-peak in the US time zones). Plus there's a store right past immigration, and with the government price guarantees in place (which say that nothing in the airport can cost more than it would in Central) it seems like a doddle -- get stamped, clear customs, go get SIM card, activate, get Octopus card, head on in.

I assume they still use the same European caller-pays system, so that incoming calls are free?

 

Appreciate it ShoresGuy, though that page is out of date. The offer currently is 150$ worth of credit for 98$ initially, and 400$ worth of credit for a 300$ top-up.

They have the cheapest mobile IDD I've ever seen... local calls are HK$0.30 (US$0.04) a minute, then the additional tariff for calling the US is HK$1.28 (US$0.16) a minute for on-peak (0800-2000 HKST, 1600-0400 PST) and HK$0.33 (US$0.04) a minute for off-peak (2000-0800 HKST, 0400-1600 PST).

Free incoming calls, as I suspected.

The numbers freak me out, because I'm not good at dividing by 7.8 to get the HK->US conversion.

I think I'll go with them... they are the new brand for Hutchinson anyway, so the coverage should be good.

 

Well, I'm back.

I was blown away by the service and the cost from 3 Hong Kong.

Get off the plane, clear customs, make a left once you get out of the secure area, and go to the 3Shop. "I'd like a SIM," I said. "HK$98," said he (about US$12.50). Put in the SIM, make a local call (whether it connects or not), and you're ready to go -- with HK$150 credit (US$19.23). You get a text message with your mobile number.

Use 1968 as your IDD code (1968+1+AC+number) and it costs just HK$1.58 (US$0.20) per minute during peak hours (0800-2000 HKST, 1600-0400 PST, M-F) and HK$0.63 (US$0.08) per minute off-hours (all other times).

The coverage was impressive -- in MTR (subway) tunnels, on the ferry, atop random mountains on Lantau, I never had less than -80dB anywhere I went. When I went up the KCR I was able to see a bunch of HK companies and then China Mobile and China Unicom from Shenzhen.

Recharging was simple, too -- walk into any 7-Eleven (they're everywhere, like Starbucks in the U.S.) and say "Yau mo saam rechaaj kaat aa?", pay HK$100, type in the code, and get HK$110 in credit.

Fantastic. I talked to my wife for an hour a day. I was able to stay in contact with my coworkers in the U.S., and it was no big deal.

I heartily recommend this to anyone travelling to Hong Kong.