Global Premium Service

If you are going on vacation or holiday overseas then the Global Premium service is for you.

Save up to 70% on international roaming rates and avoid the hidden costs of roaming (such as receiving calls, listening to voicemail and calling customer service).

Make it easy for family and friends to keep in touch - it is free for them to call you!

Benefits:

  • Includes bonus call credit
  • Use in over 90 countries
  • FREE to receive calls in France, Italy, Spain and the UK
  • FREE for family and friends to call you (No surcharge for up to 45 minutes until 1st October, then 30 minutes thereafter)
  • No connection fees
  • FREE to listen to voicemail
  • FREE to call 24/7 Customer Service from over 50 countries
  • FREE to receive text messages
  • Send international text messages from USD 49c each
  • Recharge minutes anytime via the phone or web
  • Frequent users receive 25% bonus calling time
  • It is prepaid, so no contracts, no credit checks and no monthly fees
  • View call records and receipts online
  • FREE call forwarding and easy to use conference calling
  • Receive a +44 phone number

User guide | Rates | Coverage | Features | Getting started | Making calls | Receiving calls | Recharge | Customer service | Handset compatibility

User guide

Download a print-friendly version of the user guide.

User guide - for US residents (108kb PDF file)
User guide - for all other residents (108kb PDF file)

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Rates

Calling from
Key countries
Per minute rate to call a landline*
Per minute rate to call a mobile*
Per minute rate to receive
a call
Send
text message
Receive a text message
Value added services #
Per minute rate to call Customer service and recharge
France, Italy, Spain, United Kingdom
$0.99
$1.49
FREE
$0.49
FREE
FREE
FREE
Australia, Austria, Brazil, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Netherlands, South Africa, Singapore, Switzerland
$0.99
$1.49
$0.79
$0.49
FREE
FREE
FREE
Hong Kong, New Zealand
$1.39
$1.89
$1.09
$0.49
FREE
FREE
$0.26
Canada, China, Philippines, Thailand, United States
$1.99
$2.49
$1.79
$0.49
FREE
FREE
$1.00
Mexico
$3.49
$3.99
FREE
$0.59
FREE
FREE
$2.50
Barbados, Cayman Islands, Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands
$3.49
$3.99
$2.99
$0.59
FREE
FREE
$2.50
Cuba, India
$4.49
$4.99
$3.99
$0.99
FREE
FREE
$3.50

Determine the zone for the country you are traveling to and use the table above to find the applicable rate. A per minute surcharge applies to call some non-key countries. *View applicable countries

For example
- The cost of a call from the United Kingdom (zone 1a) to a landline in any other country is $0.99 USD per minute. No connection fee applies.
- The cost to receive a call when you are in France (zone 1a) - nothing!

All rates quoted in US dollars
# Value added services include checking your account balance (it will be sent as a text message) and listening to voicemails.
A $2 per minute surcharge applies when calling US toll-free numbers

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Coverage

Make calls from over 90 countries

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Features

Voicemail Dial 121 from your phone.
The messages will be played in order of last received. Voicemail is automatically enabled. An inbound caller will be directed to voicemail if the call is not answered within 30 seconds, if the phone is switched off or if there is no coverage. A text message will be sent to notify you of a new voicemail. No charge applies.
   
Balance inquiry Dial 187 from your phone.
The account balance will be sent in a text message. Each time you make a call, you will receive a text message notifying you of the cost of the call and your remaining account balance. No charge applies.
   
Recharge Dial 154 from your phone. No charge applies from zone 1 countries.
   
Conference calling Dial #*3 after connecting your first call, then follow the voice prompts. Within moments that person will be added to the conference call. Do not forget to include a + sign when conferencing in additional callers.
A surcharge of USD 50c per minute applies for each additional caller on a conference call, in addition to the standard rate per minute for the country the additional caller is in.
   
Call forwarding Calls to your phone number may be forwarded to any other number.
Turn call forwarding on by dialing 102+ followed by the country code and number you wish to forward to, then press the call or send key (ignoring any messages on the screen).
Turn call forwarding off by dialing 103, then press the call or send key (ignoring any messages on the screen).
No charge applies.

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Getting Started

Your Global Premium service SIM card is already active for you. Your mobile phone number and PIN are printed on the enclosed letter. Please read it carefully and keep in a safe place. When you receive your package, you should:

  1. Check that the SIM card is correctly inserted and secure.
    * The SIM card is already inserted into your phone if you ordered one. The SIM card is the small chip card located in the back of the phone. It allows you to connect to the network.
  2. Attach the fully charged battery to the phone.
  3. Turn the phone on.
    * Refer to your handset user guide on how to turn it on.
  4. Enter the 4-digit PIN found in your enclosed letter and press OK.
    * Your PIN code is a four digit code printed on the enclosed letter.
    * Please enter the PIN correctly. The service will be blocked if the PIN is entered incorrectly 3 times. If your SIM is blocked you will have to contact Customer service to unblock it. When the phone registers with an available network (30-120 seconds) it is ready for use.

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Making calls

Using the Global Premium service is a little different from normal calling but so easy!

Important:

  • Always dial the full international phone number
  • After dialing, you will be briefly disconnected and receive a call back. Answer normally like when receiving a call and wait for your call to be connected.

How to make a call

  1. Enter + (Hold down the + key until you see a + on your screen).
    Entering '+' replaces the need to dial the international dialing code for the country you are in.
  2. Enter the country code (US is 1), area code (without the leading 0) and phone number.
    Example, to the US dial +16171231234, to the UK dial +442079432772 and to Australia dial +61396747000.
  3. Press the Answer key and wait for the call back.
    Ignore the text shown on your screen such as 'Call Waiting' or 'Call Blocked'. You will be briefly disconnected for 10-30 seconds then will receive a call back.
  4. Press the Answer key to answer the call.
    After 10-15 seconds your call will be connected.
  5. Press the End key to finish the call.

Menu based calling

If you hear a message saying the call cannot be completed, or if the phone does not ring back, it means that you may have to place calls via the menu.

How to make a menu-based call:

  1. Go to the Menu section of your mobile phone.
  2. Select "Services".
    * It may be located under "Extras", "Options", "Tools" or similar.
  3. Select "Callback".
  4. Select "Manual number".
  5. Enter the country code (US is 1), area code (without the leading 0) and phone number, then select "OK" or similar.
    * Ignore any messaging that may appear on the screen
  6. Your phone will ring back and your call will be connected.

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Receiving calls - plus how family and friends can call you toll free

How to receive a call

Just like at home…when your phone rings simply press the Answer key to answer the call.

Family and friends can call you for free

You're about to travel and you're saving big time with the great worldwide roaming rates of the Global Premium service.
But everyone thinks since you are traveling the world it will be too hard and too expensive to call you.
So we've made it easy - and FREE - for family and friends to give you a call - so there are no excuses.

Here's what to do:

  1. Give them your Global Premium service phone number - the one that starts +44
  2. They dial our toll free numbers from a landline or payphone
    Australia - 1-800-261-038
    France - 0805-101-177
    Germany - 0800-000-6485
    US & Canada - 1-866-305-6462
    United Kingdom - 0808-234-7418
  3. They listen to the prompts and enter your number.
  4. Pretty soon your phone will ring and you're chatting away - at no cost to your family or friends.

And if you don't answer, they can leave you a voicemail or send you a text message with their telephone number for you to call them back on - too easy.

Please note: Family and friends can only call toll free from the United States, Australia, Canada, France, Germany or United Kingdom. It is free to receive calls in France, Italy, Spain and United Kingdom. In other countries there is a per minute charge to receive the call.

There is a limit of 45 minutes for the life of the service. From the 1st October there will be a limit of 30 minutes for the life of the service.

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Recharging your account

Buying more calling time is simple. Use your American Express, Mastercard or VISA card to add US$30, $50, $100, $150 or $200 to your account.

There are three easy ways to recharge your Global Premium service account.

Using the website

Recharge online now!

Using a landline, hotel or payphone (toll free call)

  1. Dial the toll free access number for the country you are in.
  2. Enter your phone number then press the hash key.
  3. Press 1 to recharge using the Self-service phone menu.
  4. Follow the voice prompts to recharge your account.

Using your Global Premium service phone (the call is free from zone 1 countries)

  1. Dial 154 from your phone
  2. Press the Answer key and wait for the call back.
  3. Press the Answer key to answer the call.
  4. Press 1 to recharge using the Self-service phone menu.
  5. Follow the voice prompts to recharge your account.

Bonus calling time for Frequent users

If you spend more than USD$200 on calling time you become a frequent user. As a frequent user, you will receive 25% bonus calling time each time you recharge your minutes!

For example, if you have already used USD$200 worth of minutes and you recharge your account for another USD$100, you will receive an additional USD$25 of calling time FREE.

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Contacting Customer service

From landlines, hotels and payphones:

  1. Dial the access number for the country you are in.
  2. Press 0# to speak to Customer service.
    Press 0 for English
    Press 1 for French
    Press 2 for German
    Press 3 for Portuguese
    Press 4 for Spanish
    Press 5 for Italian

Note: a per minute rate applies to call a toll-free access number from your mobile phone.

From your mobile phone (the call is free from zone 1 countries):

  1. Dial 154 from your phone
  2. Press the Answer key and wait for the call back.
  3. Press the Answer key to answer the call and follow the prompts.

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Handset compatibility

This service works with virtually all handsets. If you have difficulty using the service in your handset, please see our Buying Tips for information on handset frequencies and how to unlock your handset.

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Tips

Making calls

  • Before you go, enter all your phone numbers into the address book of your new mobile handset for quick and easy dialing when you are traveling.
  • Enter all phone numbers in international format. Enter + followed by the country code (US is 1), area code (without the leading 0) and phone number. For example +16177373040
  • To enter + on your phone, press and hold the 0+ button until a + appears on the screen. If this does not work, press the 0+ button twice. It varies depending on your phone.

Messaging

  • This service does not support Multimedia Messaging (MMS). So if you have a camera phone you will need to use the USB cable to download to a computer and send them via email.

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