Brunei Telephone
Brunei has had a telephone service, albeit basic, since the 1930s, yet today it has one of the most advanced in the region with a hard line density of 25 percent. There are coin and card operated public telephones in towns and cities and telephone cards are available from post offices and shops.
Mobile phone service in Brunei is even more extensive with GSM 900, 3G, and GPRS services all available. SIM cards can be had relatively cheaply and international roaming can be activated with major mobile operators.
Placing International Calls
To place an international call from Brunei, you need to first prefix with 00. So to call the USA you would first dial 00, then 1 (US international code) and then the rest of the number. When calling the UK, you dial the 00 and then 44 (UK international code) and then the rest of the number, but dropping any 0 off the area code.
When calling home from a mobile phone when using international roaming, the 00 is not needed. Instead is should be replaced for the ‘+’ sign. So to call the USA you would dial +1 and the UK +44.
Calling Home From Brunei
Many hotels don’t offer international direct dialing in Brunei, so you first need to dial the number to get about – usually 0, 1, or 9 – followed by the outgoing code 00, the country code of your home country (the US is 1), and then the standard area code and number. The entire string from a hotel room to the USA would look something like this: 1 00 1 234 567 890. Calling home from a cell phone from Brunei simply requires a ‘+’ before the country code.
How to Save Money / Cheapest Way
The biggest money drain on calling in Brunei is from a hotel room, especially for overseas calls. The best option is via Skype (VoIP program) in an internet café, where you can call free from computer to computer, while charges to landlines and mobile phones are cheap. The prepaid Hallo Kad is good for local and international calls from any phone in the country.
Calling Within Brunei
Coin operated phones can be found all over towns and cities and are the cheapest option for calling within Brunei. It is, however, more convenient to use prepaid phone cards, which can be bought from shops, restaurants, and hotels. Rates fluctuate depending on the time of day, with mornings being the most expensive time and lower rates in the evenings, and particularly on Sunday nights.
Calling to Brunei
Calling Brunei is generally the same as calling elsewhere in the world, with the exception that Brunei does not have specific area codes. When calling Brunei from the US, enter the international dialing prefix of 011, then the Brunei country code (673), and then the seven-digit number. Although there are no actual local codes, the first digit represents the area. For example, Bandar Seri Begawan numbers start with 2.
Telephone (land)
Brunei is fairly well wired, with around 80,000 phone lines throughout the country. This sounds small for an entire country, although Brunei only has around 300,000 to 400,000 people. Telephone service throughout Brunei is generally excellent and international service from landlines to the US, Europe, and the rest of Asia is reliable.
Pay Phones
Pay phones are ubiquitous in Brunei, are coin operated and can call overseas direct. If you don’t have a mobile phone and local SIM card, relying on pay phones is okay as prepaid phone cards are available at hotels, restaurants, and shops. Hallo Kad cards are the most popular and can call local or international.
International Calling Cards
The prepaid Hallo Kad is provided by TelBru and is the most popular calling card in Brunei. It is available in different denominations and can be used from any phone for making domestic and overseas calls. There are also cards available for use in public phones exclusively and are of the magnetic strip type for swiping, while international calling cards that come with a PIN and toll-free access can also be had.
Mobile Phone Coverage
Brunei now has many more mobile phone users than landline users. There are something like 350,000 registered mobile phones in comparison to about 80,000 landlines. The coverage is good, especially in around the capital Bandar Seri Begawan in the northwest. International roaming in Brunei is possible with many of the larger phone companies.
Networks / Operators
There are just two mobile networks in Brunei: GSM 900 and 3G 2100. B-Mobile Communications Sdn Bhd runs the 3G 2100 network, while DataStream Technology (DTSCom) runs GSM 900. The latter (GSM 900) is only good for 2G.
Getting a Local SIM Card
If you want to make use of a local SIM card in your mobile, it will have to be of the GSM variety and be unlocked. Mobile phones are traditionally locked for use with one SIM package at the time of purchase, meaning if you slip in another SIM card it won’t work. Most modern mobile phones can be unlocked in Brunei’s many phone centers for a small fee. You will then be able to use a local SIM card on a prepaid package.
International Roaming
Many of the major international mobile phone companies offer roaming agreements for those with existing SIM cards. If yours does, be aware that international roaming is generally very expensive and you often pay to receive, as well as to make, calls. If you cannot have international roaming switched on, consider having your mobile phone unlocked and buying a local SIM card.
Info Box on GSM Phones
GSM means Global System for Mobile Communications, but just because you have a GSM phone doesn’t mean it will necessarily operate anywhere that utilizes GSM networks. The USA is different to the rest of the world in that most of the mobile phones sold there run on the 1900 frequency, whereas Asia (including Brunei) use 900, or 1800. This means that 1900 phones will not work in Brunei. Tri-band phones work anywhere, however.
Voice Over IP
Voice over IP, better known simply as VoIP, stands for voice over internet protocol and is a program that enables people to talk over the Internet from a computer. Skype is the most common VoIP program out there today and is free to download and call from computer to computer anywhere in the world.
When the person you intend calling doesn’t have access to a PC, you can also direct dial them from a Skype-enabled computer to a landline or mobile phone. Prices are way cheaper than usage of standard phones.
Time Difference
The time zone for Brunei GMT +8 hours. It is 13 hours ahead of the US east coast, 16 hours ahead of the Pacific coast and eight hours ahead of London. There is no daylight saving time in Brunei.
