🚀 go-pugleaf

I'm moving to Australia for a year in a few weeks. I'll need a mobile
there as soon as I arrive, but would like to get one that I could then
continue to use in the UK on my return.

Since I need one immediately, with no credit background / bank account
in Oz, I guess a pre-pay system is the way to go.

Looking around, it seems that a lot of pre-pay phones these days are
sim-locked (eg I can't take my current Cellnet Easylife Philips Diga
out there - I'm giving it to my parents).

Can anyone advise me what the best option is:
1) What the technical requirements would be for such a dual country
phone (ie do I need a 'dual-band GSM' unit)?
2) How I could get a phone that could be used both in the UK and there?
I see that Optus pre-pay includes a sim-only package - could I put that
sim into a suitable phone bought in the UK? If so, what would be the
best way to buy a phone here to do that? Orange do a pre-pay system
with no time limit on the vouchers, but they tell me that all their
phones are sim-locked.
3) Or should I just buy a pre-pay phone in Australia. Can I get one
there that I could then use with a new UK pre-pay sim when I return to
the UK?
4) Are mobile phones cheaper in Australia or in the UK?
5) What is the cheapest way to just buy a mobile phone that is not
committed to any particular network or call payment plan, in the UK or
in Australia?

Any advice much appreciated - I'm loathe to end up with another junk
mobile phone after my year abroad, and want to know if I should buy one
before I go, or get one out there.

Thanks in advance.

Mick


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