Outlets or franchises of all three major cellphone providers are conveniently located near the campus. Shop around, compare rates and services, and consider several important factors before you decide on a provider. You may also solicit suggestions from 2nd-year fellow students. Provider(s) might offer contract rates for full time international students with ARCs and passports. Some might even waive deposits for international students. However, this may not suit your needs the best. Think through the questions below when choosing your cellphone provider:images (2)

  • Are pre-paid plans available and is this a good option for you?
  • What are the rates for calls, text messages, data transfers, etc? Keep in mind that cellphones in the Taiwan only charge for outgoing (not for incoming) calls and texts.
  • Is a deposit required to sign a contract?
  • How will the deposit be returned? For example, will it be returned in full at the end of your contract?
  • If you have to terminate the contract earlier, will you be charged a penalty or lose your deposit?
  • Are you able to use your current phone or required to purchase a new phone?
  • Taipei has a broad and reliable free wifi service in the metropolitan area and there is also free wifi on campus (but not in the dorms, though), so if you already have a smartphone which you can use in Taiwan, a pre-paid calling option might be enough.

To give you a rough idea, here is a sample deal arrangement.

  • Passport and ARC are requested for the application of a mobile phone plan with all phone providers, so you won’t be able to get a plan until around 3 weeks after your arrival (time needed to get your ARC).  Pre-paid plans would be the only choice for first three weeks.
  • Below is the cost breakdown for a 6 GB data student plan deal – NT$999 (~US$31) call limit, and a new Samsung S6 phone with a 32 GB capacity for 24-month validity. You need to pay NT$27,900 upfront.

 

Items Approximate unit cost in NT$ (US$)
Cost of phone 15,000 (485)
Deposit 3,000 (97)
10-month usage pre-payment  9,990 (333) 9,990 (322)
TOTAL 27,990 (900)

*The deposit is reimbursable upon the completion of the plan provided all monthly bills have been paid off.

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