Many companies offer cellular service, and you can purchase inexpensive prepaid phones at most grocery and convenience stores.
If you do not have a Social Security Number, you have to pay a security deposit when you sign a long-term contract with a cellular phone company for service. The security deposit will often be fully refunded when your contract is over one year, but it depends on the cell phone company.
This site: ConsumerSearch.com gives reviews of many plans and phones. Most students choose to wait until they arrive in the United States to buy a phone.
TIP: T-Mobile in Federal Way has an employer who speaks Korean. The Sprint store near South Center Mall has an employer who speaks Japanese.
Buy a Phone Card for Long Distance Calls:
If you want to make an international long-distance call, you may purchase a calling card from Highline (on the second floor of the student union building, next to the ATM) or at a grocery store, a convenience store, a shopping mall or cell phone shop.
Sprint International Prepaid Phone Card is available at the Sprint Shop in Southcenter Mall. Here is a sample of their rates for calls from Seattle:
Japan 6 cents/ minute
Korea 30 cents/ minute
China/ Taiwan 25 cents/ minute
Colombia 33 cents/ minute
Call using the Internet:
Students with computers can get the cheapest rates using Internet Phones such as Skype or the Gizmo Project
Make an International Phone Call:
To call outside America, you will need to dial the international calling code (011), then the country code of where you are calling (to check country codes look online at: http://kropla.com/dialcode/htm) and then dial the number you are trying to call. [Note for Japanese: If your area code has 0, you have to remove 0. If your phone number is (052) 123-4567, then dial 011-81-52-123-4567]
Sometimes you will see a telephone number that uses the Alphabet instead of numbers. To call these numbers, look at the numbers on a touch-tone phone. You will see the letters and can push a number for each letter. For example, 1-800-SEATTLE is means 1-800-732-8853. You can also use this as a guide:
2... ABC 3...DEF 4...GHI 5...JKL 6...MNO 7...PQRS 8...TUV 9...WXYZ
Useful Telephone Terms:
Area Code: A three-digit prefix for phone numbers. For example, “425” in 425-123-4567 is the area code. You do not need to dial the area code when making a local call.
Toll Free: In America, if a phone number begins with 800, 877, or 888, it is free call. For example, 1-800-123-4567 or 1-888-123-4567 are free.
The Pound Key: If the operator or automatic voice instructs you to enter a number “followed by the pound key,” it means to dial the number and then press the “#” key.
