A SIM card is the brain of your handset and a prepaid card is a means of applying airtime to your account. A prepaid customer will use both types of cards.

Yes, you can reload or top up more minutes at any time. No need to run to the store to add more airtime. You can purchase additional minutes through our web site or you can call us.

Ordinary cell phone service works so that the unique serial number in your phone (its ESN) is used by the cell phone service provider to identify who you are. The wireless service 'knows' that a particular phone's serial number is your phone and knows to send phone calls to that phone when someone dials your phone number. A GSM phone is not directly linked to you. Instead, it has a removable account card, called a SIM (subscriber information module) and this SIM has a unique serial number on it.

Note that IDs are required to purchase a prepaid phone to prevent criminal use. In case of foreigners, Japan's Alien Registration Card is required. In some shops you may be able to buy one only with a credit card.

There is no need to sign a minimum contract, because the foreign wireless service provider does not giving you a free phone or any other sort of subsidy, therefore you do not need to commit to an one or two year term contract. You just buy the SIM card, use it as much as you would like, and stop using it whenever you choose.

The SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) card (SIM Chip) is the brain of your handset. The SIM card is approximately the size of a credit card. The SIM chip is removed from the card holder and inserted into the back of the handset. It’s about the size of a postage stamp, with embedded circuitry on one side. When inserted into a GSM handset, the SIM when activated by Cable & Wireless facilitates mobile service on a particular GSM network.

The PIN debit card can be used to withdraw cash at ATMs and to make point-of-sale (POS) purchases at merchants that accept PIN debit cards. The MasterCard Debit Card can also be used like the PIN debit card to withdraw cash at ATMs and make PIN purchases; plus it can be used as a signature debit card to purchase goods and services everywhere MasterCard Debit Cards are accepted.

A Gift Card has no expiration date. A Prepaid Card gives you the choice of specifying an expiration date or you may choose to have no expiration date. If an expiration date is specified on a Prepaid Card, any unused balance will be refunded to the purchaser.

A calling card gives you the ability to make a phone call from anywhere (a payphone, hotel room, or another country). Calling cards are issued through long distance companies and are typically billed on your long distance bill. The rates are usually higher than regular long distance however lower than prepaid phone cards. Be extremely cautious of the deceptive rates of prepaid phone cards. They are usually loaded with expensive surcharges and unusually high billing increments.

The providers will block your SIM card only when it suits their interests, i.e. when they do not want to be held accountable for a bill rung up by a thief. When the SIM card is changed in the phone that phone is fully functional on their network or another network. The networks already have the technology to block your actual device, which means that no matter what SIM card is inserted, the phone would be unusable. We are actively trying to force the networks to implement this service.