Cell Phones and SIM Cards | Guide to Taipei.com

Chunghwa (中華電信) VS. Taiwan Mobile (台灣大哥大) VS. FarEast (遠傳) · 5G Services · How to choose a SIM card:. Skiptomaincontent CellPhonesandSIMCards SIMCardsarebeforeimmigrationattheairport SIMCardsarebeforeimmigrationattheairport SIMCardsarebeforeimmigrationattheairport Called預付卡,yùfùkǎ,prepaidSIMcardsareeasilyaccessibleinTaiwanforarelativelylowstartupcost.SIMcardscanbepurchasedincityshops,attheairport,orinadvanceonlinewithasimplepickupattheairport.Gettingadataplaniseasy,butmakesuretocheckalltheavailableplansbeforechoosing. WhenapplyingforaprepaidSIMcard,remembertobringtwoformsofID.ApassportandsecondaryformofIDsuchasanationalIDcard(i.e.SingaporeanNRID,MalaysianMyKad,etc.)orotherstate-issuedformofIDsuchasadriver'slicensearerecommended. TheairportSIMcarddeskclosesat8PM,sovisitorsarrivingafter8PMarerecommendedtofirstreserveaSIMonline,thenpickupwithourpartneratTaoyuanAirport,openuntil1AM. SIMcardsareavailableforonlinereservationfromTaiwanMobile台灣大哥大for5,7,or10daysincludingunlimited4GLTEdata(withnothrottlingorspeedreduction)andsomecreditforcallingandtexting.SIMcardsfromChunghwaTelecom中華電信arealsoavailableforonlinereservation. UsinganunlimiteddataSIMissaferandmoresecurethanconnectingtopublicWiFi.WhenconnectingtoWiFithatyouarenotinchargeof,thereisthepotentialforotherusersonthatWiFitosnoopandpossiblyviewyourdataand/orstealpasswords.WhenconnectingtoWiFi,alwaysmakesurethereisapassword,asconnectionswithoutpasswordsarecompletelyinsecureandmaybeahoneypotwheretheownerspecificallysetsupfreeWiFitostealuserinfo.AsmobileserviceinTaiwanisinexpensive,werecommendeveryonetobesafeandgetadedicatedSIM.TheTaiwanMobileSIMoffersfreetetheringtootherdevices,aswell. Foreaseandconvenience,considerrentingapersonalmobilepocketWiFiunitwithunlimited4GLTEdataforupto5usersforonlyNT$100perday,witheasypickupanddrop-offatTaoyuanAirport(TPE)Terminals1&2,TaipeiSongshanAirport(TSA),andKaohsiungAirport(KHH). MobilephoneanddatapackagesareavailableforreservationonlineandpickupinthefollowingcountriesoutsideTaiwan: Singapore(Downtown) Malaysia(KLIAorKLIA2) HongKong(Airport)WiFiorSIM Thailand(BKKorDMK) Philippines-Manila,WiFisharingdevice,deliveryorpickupatairport Chunghwa(中華電信)VS.TaiwanMobile(台灣大哥大)VS.FarEast(遠傳) IftravelingmainlyinTaipeiCityorotherlargercities,serviceacrossallthreewillbeconsistent.Ingeneral,servicequalityisexcellentwithfastinternetspeeds,especiallyinareaswithlessnetworkcongestion.DuetoTaiwan'smountainoustopography,areasoutsidecitycenterswillhavevaryinglevelsofservice.Fortravelersvisitingtomountainousareas,Chunghwaisthepreferrednetwork. FarEastandTaiwanMobilearegenerallycheaperoptionsandmayoffermorepromotions,especiallyforthoselookingforpost-paidcontracts.Chunghwahasthebestlevelofservice,however,ismoreexpensive.Withinthecity,thedifferencesbetweentheprovidersisminimal,andFarEastorTaiwanMobilemayprovidebetterorworseconnectivitytooverseasInternetservicessincebothareseparatedfromChunghwa'sHiNetnetwork. 5GServices Atthemoment,5Gservicesareofferedbythemajorcarriers,howeveronlyforthosewithpost-paidcontractsatdifferentfaretariffs.5Gservicesarenotavailableforprepaid. HowtochooseaSIMcard: IfyourpartywillbetravelingoutsideTaipeiorothercityareas,consideraChunghwaSIMcard.Sinceshopsarehardertofindincomparisontotheotherproviders,considerreservingonlineforpickupattheairport.Thepriceishigherthantheothertwo,butservicewillbemorereliableinthemountains. Ifyourpartywillmainlybeinthecityorvisitingpopularspots,consideraTaiwanMobileorFarEastSIMcard.Serviceismoreaffordableandshopsaremoreavailable,andtetheringWiFiisallowedwithcheaperdatapackages.BothSIMcardsarealsoavailableforpickupattheairport(TWMobile,FarEast). Anotherwaytodeterminethebestnetworkistomatchthenetworkspecificationstothemobilephonebeingused.Generallyspeaking,thenewly-utilisedLTEradiobandssuchasBand7(2600MHZ)arelimitedtonewerhandsets,thereforecongestiononthosebandsislessthanothers.Lowerfrequenciescanpenetratewallsbetter,andhigherfrequenciescanhandlemoredata.Ifahandsetcanaccessmorefrequencies,ithasthepotentialtocreateastrongerconnection. TechnicalDetails: Taiwan'sLTEprovidersoperatebyusingtheFDD-LTEworldstandardandisnotcompatiblewithChinaTDD-LTE.TDD-LTEphoneswillhaveissuesusingLTEinTaiwanasonlyFar-EastsupportsTD-LTEononefrequency,andmaybedowngradedto3GunlessthehandsetalsosupportsFDD-LTE.LTEnetworkevolutioncategoriesinTaiwanareCategory6,exceptChunghwawhichisCategory11.TaiwanMobileandFarEastofferVoLTE(usingLTEforaudiocalls)serviceasapremium.3Gdataservices(includingW-CDMAandHSPA+)wereterminatedattheendofyear2018inagovernmentefforttoincreaseavailablefrequenciesforfuturedevelopment,soonlyLTE-focusedserviceswillbeavailableandhandsetswhichdonotsupport4GLTEstandardswillnotbeoperational. Thefollowingbandsandfrequenciesaresupportedbyeachprovider: Provider SupportedFrequencies Chunghwa(中華電信) Band12100MHZ Band31800MHZ Band8900MHZ Band72600MHZ TaiwanMobile(台灣大哥大) Band12100MHZ Band31800MHZ Band28700MHZ FarEast(遠傳) Band12100MHZ Band31800MHZ Band28700MHZ Band72600MHZ Chunghwa'sData+WiFipackagesalsoofferconnectionsat50,000APs(accesspoint)alloverTaiwan.However,foronlinesecurity,becarefulaboutconnectingtoWiFihotspotsyouarenotincontrolof.Withunlimiteddata,theWiFicomponentmostlikelywillnotbeutilisedbytravellers,andmustbeactivatedfirstbydialling5397. Chunghwa'scustomerservicecanbereachedbycalling928.Tochangelanguage,call928,choose4,thenchoose1forChinese(華語),2forEnglish,3forJapanese(日本語),4forThai(ภาษาไทย),5forVietnamese(TiếngViệt),and6forIndonesian(BahasaIndonesia). PrepaidShortcodesforTaiwanMobile(台湾大哥大): CustomerService:188 CheckCreditBalance:*867# CheckRemainingData(Subscription):*837*30# CheckRemainingData(Bucket):*867*100# 7/11nowsellsSIMcards.7-MobileSIMcardsarecurrentlythemostconvenientcardstorecharge,andalsoprovideaccesstoWiFiatall7/11locations.VisitorsreportthatgettingSIMcardsat7/11requiresusageoftheiBonmachinetoscanapassportandsecondaryID,thenawaitingtimeisrequiredasthedocumentsareprocessed.Also,thesystemisonlyavailableinChinese. Sharethisarticle Share Facebook Twitter WhatsApp E-Mail CopyLink QuickSearch Search reportthisad TaiwanInfo reportthisad