This page gives overseas students in the UK useful information about different methods of communication, including postal services and using fixed line and mobile phone networks.
· Fixed line telephone services
Overseas students in the UK will likely want to use a mobile phone, especially if they are on a medium or long term course. This means that many students will choose not to have a fixed line telephone in addition, as they can use their mobile phone for all incoming and outgoing calls. The most common reason for students needing a fixed line phone is that they are renting a private apartment or house and need an active phone line to connect computers to the internet from the property.
Whatever reason students might have for needing a phone line at home, they need to consider what other telecoms services they want. There are many telecoms companies in the UK, most of which offer customers packages including a phone line and broadband internet connection plus maybe cable television services. Note that certain packages from certain providers will require users to sign a minimum 12 month contract. So students need to be sure that they will need the service for at least 12 months before signing any contract with such a lock-in period, or they should choose a provider with a package that has no lock-in period.
For students needing nothing more than a fixed line phone service, they should contact British Telecom (BT), see www.bt.com, for more information.
With the ever growing popularity of mobile phones, few people in the UK have need for public pay phones these days. However, an extensive network of public telephones still exists across the UK. They can be found at airports, train and tube stations, bus garages, hospitals, shopping malls, sports and entertainment venues, petrol stations, busy high streets as well as some quieter residential streets, nationwide.
Public telephones in the UK used to be easily recognisable as tall, bright red boxes with lots of small glass windows. The vast majority of public telephones no longer have this distinctive appearance, except for some areas of central London and certain other locations, however, even the more modern forms of public phone boxes are still quite easy to distinguish.
Some public telephones require the user to input coins to make a call and others only accept “phonecards”. Some accept both coins and phonecards. Phonecards can be purchased from post offices, supermarkets, some petrol stations and other convenience stores. They come in different values from ￡2.00 up to ￡20.00.
Students that are unfamiliar with using a public telephone should read the instructions on the phone and follow them accordingly. Note that when the caller’s money or phonecard credit is about to run out during a call, they will hear a series of beeps through the receiver.
Most UK telephone numbers have two parts; an area code followed by a six to eight digit number. For example;
Note that sometimes numbers are displayed with the area code in brackets, i.e. (0141) 1234567. This is because if someone is dialing this number from a fixed line phone within the same area code, they do not need to dial the full number, they can omit the area code and just dial the remaining numbers, i.e. 1234567 only.
The full number, including the area code, always needs to be dialed when calling from a mobile phone.
When calling a UK number from outside the UK, callers must put the country code for the UK (+44) followed by the full number, omitting the first 0, i.e. +44 141 1234567.
There are certain telephone numbers used in the UK that have special call rates. These numbers usually begin with 08. For example;
Note that some numbers starting with 08 are “premium rate” numbers that have extremely high call charges.
To call overseas from the UK, dial 00 followed by the country code (i.e. 86 for China, 852 for Hong Kong, etc.) and then the telephone number. Remember to omit the 0 at the start of the telephone number if there is one.
However, students should note that making international calls direct from a UK fixed line phone or mobile phone is very expensive indeed. Hence most people will use a “cheap rate international dialing service”, especially if they make frequent overseas calls.
The simplest and most commonly used method of making cheap rate international calls is to purchase an “international dialing phone card”. These cards can be purchased at many convenience stores and other outlets, from as little as ￡5.00. Most cards will be for calling one specific country only, at a set call rate, which will be a fraction of the rate for dialing directly. Some cards can be used to call many different countries, each with its own set call rate. Working similar to a domestic phone card, the user purchases credit when buying the card and then uses this credit to make international calls. Once the credit on the card runs out, they must buy another card, with however much credit they need. After buying a card, users must scratch off the silver panel on the card face that reveals a serial number. Users should then follow all the instructions on the card. They will typically need to dial the initial access number on the card, followed by the card’s serial number, then the country code and telephone number.
Another alternative is to use a VoIP, Voice over Internet Protocol, telephone service which uses a broadband internet connection rather then a normal phone line. Or students with their own computers and an internet connection can make cheap rate calls to international telephone numbers from their computers using software such as Skype.
This number should be dialed ONLY in an emergency. Callers can request police, fire or ambulance services through this number. Callers should inform the operator of the service they require, their precise location and the nature of the emergency. All calls to 999 are free, even from public pay phones and mobile phones.
Callers without any money or a phonecard can call this number to make a “reverse charge call” to a UK phone number, from a public telephone. This is where the person being called is charged for the call (at a very high call rate). The caller informs the operator of the number they wish to dial and the person they wish to contact. The operator then calls the number and informs the party at the other end that someone is making a reverse charge call to them and asks them if they would like to accept the call (and the charges). The caller is only connected if the recipient accepts.
This number can be dialed to make a reverse charge call to a phone number outside the UK, in a similar way to domestic reverse charge calls, see above.
All these numbers are for “directory enquiry” services companies. They are “premium rate” numbers, meaning that high call rates apply, so are most often used when people have no access to a paper telephone directory or the internet. Callers can request the fixed line telephone number of a specific person, if they know their name and exact address (so long as that person has not asked to be de-listed from the national telephone directory), or a business or organisation. The services offered by each company differ slightly. Some are able to tell callers the telephone number of the nearest mini cab company or what films are showing at the nearest cinema and the show times.
· Mobile phones and network providers
Overseas students in the UK will likely want to use a mobile phone.
Students on short term courses will commonly use their mobile phone and SIM card from their home country, making use of the “roaming” facility. This is where mobile network providers in one country have a “roaming partner agreement” with mobile network providers in other countries, so people travelling abroad can continue to use their own phone and SIM card to make and receive calls. Users of a roaming service will generally be charged quite high rates for incoming and outgoing calls. Users may have to contact their mobile network provider in their home country to activate the roaming service before they leave home.
Students on medium or long term courses will generally benefit from using the services of a UK mobile network provider. Most students will be able to use their own mobile phone, therefore only need to change the SIM card inside the phone to one from a UK mobile network provider. There are a number of mobile network providers in the UK, the main ones, most of which have good network coverage across all regions of the country, are; Vodafone, Virgin mobile, T-Mobile, Orange, O2 and 3.
When purchasing a SIM card in the UK, students have a choice of available payment plans as well as network providers. The two most common plans are explained below.
The easiest and most likely the best option for many is a “Pay as you go” (PAYG) plan. Users purchase a PAYG SIM card from their chosen network provider, usually costing a minimal amount and sometimes even free of charge. Users buy credit (talk time) in advance so they can make outgoing calls. Note that there is no fee for receiving calls. Credit can be purchased in a variety of ways, either direct from the network provider (i.e. from their website or from one of their high street stores) or in the form of “Top-up cards” which can be purchased from most mobile phone shops, petrol stations, supermarkets and some other convenience stores. Call and text message rates for PAYG plans differ between network providers but can be quite high compared to other types of payment plans. Once the user’s credit runs out, they simply need to buy more (“Top-up”).
Any student that will use their mobile phone a lot, while in the UK, might be better off choosing a “Pay monthly” plan. Under a pay monthly plan the user signs a contract with their chosen network provider and is sent a bill each month. Most contracts offer free or heavily discounted mobile phones, but lock-in the customer to a minimum 12 or 18 month service contract. Some network providers offer contracts with no lock-in periods, that can be cancelled with just one month’s notice, but these will offer no free phones or other additional benefits. Pay monthly users will have a choice of different tariffs, most of which offer a set number of free minutes and text messages each month, for a set monthly fee. Any calls or text messages made beyond the user’s monthly allowance will be charged at a set rate. Each network provider will have a range of different tariffs all offering different amounts of free minutes and text messages for varying monthly fees. In general, anyone that uses their mobile phone to make a lot of outgoing calls and/or text messages will save money compared to a PAYG plan, and should be able to find a pay monthly tariff that suits them well.
All students are advised to do a little research first, to see which network, payment plan and tariff offers them the best value for money, according to how much they intend to use their mobile phone. There are many mobile phone stores in the UK that sell phones and packages from different network providers that have well trained sales-people able to give good, impartial advice to customers.
Most institutions will have one or more public computers that students can use to check their E-mails and surf the internet. They will typically be found in libraries, student unions or communal areas. If an institution does not provide students with this service, there are many internet cafes, usually found on high streets that students can use for a small fee. Alternatively, some public libraries, coffee bars and other establishments offer free access to an on-line computer.
In addition, there is a growing number of “WiFi Hot Spots” covering the UK, where students with portable computers can connect to a public wireless network for free or for a small fee. WiFi Hot Spots can be found at many airports, coffee bars, petrol stations and other establishments all over the UK.
Students living in an institution’s accommodation, such as boarding houses or halls of residence may or may not have access to phone lines or computer networks that they can connect a personal computer to in order to get on-line. In student accommodation where such facilities are available, the service is often provided free of charge or included in the rent.
Students living in a rented apartment or house can connect a personal computer to the internet in a variety of ways. The two most common methods are dial-up and broadband connections, both of which are explained below.
The simplest method is to use a dial-up connection through a standard telephone line, although this will only provide a low bandwidth connection giving quite a slow download speed. Naturally, students will first need to have set up a telephone line at home (see Fixed line telephone services above). Once a telephone line is active they can contact their telephone line provider or one of the many Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in the UK and apply for a dial-up service. In most cases, students will be given a telephone number, plus username and password. They dial the telephone number through their computer’s modem and log-on using their username and password. Most ISP’s charge very little or even nothing for this service. Users simply need to pay their telephone line provider for time spent using the line, from as little as 1p per minute. For example, see www.free-dialup.net. Students using a dial-up service to connect to the internet should remember that other people living in the same property will not be able to use the phone line while a dial-up connection is active.
For many students that use the internet frequently (for study and/or for leisure), a much faster connection will be desirable if not essential. These students will require a broadband internet connection. Broadband in the UK is usually either provided through an underground cable or through an active phone line (ADSL). Many regions of the UK are served by underground cable, through which telephone, broadband internet access and cable TV services are available, but many areas are still not covered. Most properties in the UK are already able to establish a broadband connection through their existing phone line but a small number of properties will not be able to and some may need a telecoms engineer to visit the property first to enable the line to make a broadband connection. Students might need to have set up a telephone line at home first (see Fixed line telephone services above).
There are many cable and ADSL broadband service providers to choose from in the UK. Most of which, will supply a broadband modem for free and give users assistance in setting up their connection. Some may charge users to have the broadband connection activated, others will not. Most providers offer a number of different tariffs, each offering certain connection speeds and download limits for a set monthly fee. Note that most broadband providers offer customers packages including a phone line and broadband internet connection plus maybe cable television services. So students need to consider all of their telecoms requirements when deciding which provider, tariff and package to choose. Note that certain tariffs/packages from certain providers will require users to sign a minimum 12 month contract. So students need to be sure that they will need the service for at least 12 months before signing any contract with such a lock-in period, or they should choose a provider with a tariff/package that has no lock-in period.
With the rapid growth in usage of the internet and E-mail, many overseas students in the UK will rarely if ever wish to send a letter in the post. However, when it is necessary, it is a very simple procedure.
Students can choose between “first-class” and “second-class” services for sending a letter to anywhere in the UK. A first-class stamp costs 32p and the letter will usually be delivered the next working day. A second-class stamp costs 23p and the letter will be delivered in two or three working days. A “recorded delivery” service, where the receiver gives confirmation of receiving the letter, is more expensive but should be used for sending important documents. Note that students should never send cash through the post.
Students should go to a post office to send any letters overseas. The cost of postage will depend on the weight of the letter, the destination country and the requested speed of delivery. Recorded international deliveries will cost a little extra.
Parcels can be sent through the Royal Mail, at a post office, or using another delivery company of which many operate in the UK, offering both domestic and international delivery services, some of which can collect the parcel from a given address. The delivery price will depend on the weight of the parcel, the destination, the requested speed of delivery and whether or not the sender wishes the parcel to be insured against loss or damage. Most services offer recorded delivery as standard for parcels. For more information about sending parcels using the Royal Mail, see www.royalmail.com.
Post office branches can be found all over the UK. At a post office, students can purchase stamps, send letters or parcels to anywhere in the UK or overseas, including sending recorded deliveries. In addition, post offices offer many other useful services, such as paying utility bills in cash, renewing car tax, purchasing a TV license and much more. For more information about the services on offer at post offices or to find the nearest branch, see www.postoffice.co.uk. Note that stamps can also be purchased from supermarkets, convenience stores and other outlets.
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