Mobile telphony and wireless Internet in Solomon Islands

Hello again,

In asking my recent questions concerning Solomon Islands (visa extension, budget, climate, accommodation), I of course forgot about something else, namely communications.

I have a Sony Ericsson mobile phone with a SIM card of an operator called Orange (some of you may know it). I doubt very much it will work in Solomon Islands, and even if it does, the fees for connections would be exorbitant. I know there is something in Solomon Islands called Breeze Mobile but I am not sure how that fits in with my system/phone. Do I simply buy a (prepaid?) SIM card by Our Telekom and insert it into my phone (and if so, are all SIM cards world over the same size?). If this is is indeed the case, do you have some idea bout the costs of calling both locally (from town to town, from island to island, from province to province) and internationally (from as close as Australia to as far away as Poland)?

Similarly, I havea USB modem by the same operator (Orange) that enables me to use the Internet via my netbook but again I guess it will be useless in Solomon Islands. What do I do? Do I simply (again) need to buy another Breeze Mobile SIM card for my USB modem, or do I actually have to purchase the whole service (I've seen something called Bumblebee Wireless) including a modem?

Apologies if my questions sound stupid, but I have never used my mobile or my wireless Internet outside of Poland (and some neighbouring countries), and certainly never as far away as Solomon Islands, so I have no idea how it all works. Judging by the way some other things operate in SI, it may be very hard, but perhaps I'm wrong and perhaps it is indeed - as the name implies - a breeze? ;-)

I am also planning to take a satellite phone with me, but this will only be for situations where mobile has no coverage and where I need to send an urgent message. Or would you recommend to use only mobile or only satellite?

Many thanks

Kind regards

Wojtek

Since my last visit 17 months ago, an additional mobile carrier called B-Mobile has been added, which works in some rural areas where Breeze (operated by Telekom) doesn't, as well as the main urban areas.
I understand you can call phones from each network to the other.
Also on my last trip, there were no local SIM cards available, so I wish I had enabled global roaming.
If your phone is GSM, then a SIM card from either Telekom (Breeze) or B-Mobile should fit.
I have not tried wireless internet, as I generally don't take my (rather large) laptop, but rely on internet cafes.
Visit a Telekom office when you arrive, and check what the requirements for Wireless - I think there are only a limited number of hotspots. (I prefer the smaller office at Panatina Plaza (between the CBD and the airport) as it rarely has queues, while the one downtown always has long slow queues.)
Call and internet costs are cheaper than Australia, but I can't give ou accurate figures, as the last time I paid a telephone bill was several years ago. (I buy prepaid mobile time).

Get the Pre-Paid sim-card, they are fairly cheap, especially when the Solomon currency has gone weak. At the same time you purchase the sim-card (from Our Telekom) you ask them to activate internet on your newly paid simcard, I do not know if your Dongle is locked with the phone company you are with now, you can use your prepaid sim card for both calls on your mobile and internet (once activated) on your laptops. The coverage of 3G network is pretty good in Honiara, Auki and Gizo. With wireless, you have limited hotspots, but with a pre paid sim card and a dongle, you're surfing the net wherever you are....where there is a GSM/3G network around. Plus you can almost top-up your pre-paid sim card at any Me-Top-Up agents (they are all over the place).