We highly recommend having a fully functioning phone while abroad. Relying solely on WiFi is typically not sufficient. Check with you phone service provider about international plans, or use a local SIM card. To use a local SIM card, your phone must be unlocked. If your phone is paid off, you can ask your phone service provider for the unlock code. Make sure you do this before you go abroad.

Here are some comments from the previous students regarding the phone:

• I would recommend getting a prepaid sim card and reloading it each month. Telstra has the most coverage/is the most reliable, but also the most expensive. Telstra, Optus, and Vodafone are the most common.
• As said before, unlock your phone; buy a sim card at any local grocery store for $2AUD. Plans are $30AUD/month for almost all plan. Optus & Telstra are the big companies.
• The phone plans are amazing here! Definitely buy an Optus sim card. They have the best deals with data. It was about $40 Australian dollars a month and I received 10 gb of data. Works pretty much anywhere and they had free international calls and free spotify music.