I’ve had a Taiwan Mobile number for years, and when my new ARC comes I want to leave and go to a different network. My reason is that the speeds are laughably slow, and the price for unlimited data, which I need is ridiculously high. Taiwan Star has great deals, but I don’t know whether they will let me sign up as a foreigner yet. My wife could sign as a guarantor, or sign up for a plan with her name, although I’m not sure if I could transfer my number from Taiwan Mobile that way. My question is, to those who have transfered a number from Taiwan Mobile in the past, what is the process and is it easy? My two contract with Taiwan Mobile ended about six months ago, but as I haven’t cancelled it I’m still paying the same rate for the same awful service.
If you’re having problems with Taiwan mobile, im not sure you are going to be happy with Tstar.
That said they require a guarantor so you get the account, your wife cosigns, you pay Taiwan mobile I think $100nt to release your number, and usually your new carrier reimburses it to you. And the Number carries over.
I can’t remember now, but I might have needed a guarantor with Taiwan Mobile too. I don’t mind having a guarantor as long as they don’t deny me any services or deals because I’m a foreigner.
You can’t get any online deals as a foreigner. Only in store specials.
I refuse to use guarantors for anything in Taiwan but I won’t get into that rant again.
Taiwan Mobile no longer requires Guarantors. Tstar does and I absolutely recommend against getting a guarantor. I’ve been fighting guarantor and racist bullshit for years and it violates article 21 of the Telecom Act.
Also Tstar is a smaller provider and has less service than Taiwan Mobile.
When you guys get guarantors. It legtitimises the instititional racism.
Is there a provider cheaper than Taiwan Mobile that doesn’t require a guarantor? If so, I’ll go with them. However, I’m not paying twice as much to stay with ‘good guy’ Taiwan Mobile, who in my experience are not so foreigner friendly anyway.
Nope. Tstar competitor Asia Pacific Telecom aka GT4G reinstituted guarantors after a legal fight I won to end them.
I am livid. Their management are both xenophobic fucks and if they want to sue me for this post, I’ll go nuclear and make sure the whole country knows of their xenophobic actions.
What’s your current plan?
What speeds you get?
All you can eat data plan for $600.
My wife’s brother is with Tstar, same data, $240.
One sec, I’ll do a speed test.
Update: I turned my WiFi and VPN off, and the mobile data alone, which for some reason is showing as LTE not 4G at the moment, is not even fast enough to load the speedtest website. I’m in a very central, busy area of New Taipei City, two minutes walk from a MRT station.
I’ve had good experiences with Taiwan mobile in the past in terms of speed. I’m on Tstar currently and I’m having spotty coverage in some parts of beitou, though downtown was good. I think chungwa mobile may have the best coverage.
Service maps for you to compare.
Tstar, much of the country is one bar.
Edit: I’m just gonna leave this here.
Today I went to Taiwan Mobile, Tstar and GT.
Taiwan Mobile told me their cheapest monthly plan for unlimited data was NT$599.
Tstar offered me NT$399 for unlimited data, but my wife had to come and co-sign, which she couldn’t do because she is currently doing zuoyuezi.
GT offered me NT$299 for unlimited data, but if my wife didn’t co-sign I would have to pay a NT$2400 deposit, which would be returned upon the end of the contract.
Going with GT over Taiwan Mobile will save me NT$3600 every year, plus I’ll finally have internet that is fast enough to watch YouTube videos…
The best part about GT though, was how fast the process was. I was in the store for about ten minutes total and everything was done. I didn’t even need to go to Taiwan Mobile and do anything to transfer my number over, GT will do all the work. Also, unlike Taiwan Mobile, GT didn’t try to sell me any extras that I didn’t want, such as MyMusic, home Wi-Fi… Great service!
Don’t cosign. It lends legitimacy to racism.
I didn’t, I paid the deposit instead.
Asking for a deposit, although annoying to the customer, is fair in my opinion. Most foreigners who come here only stay for a year or so, and the woman in the store told me herself that the majority of foreigners who have signed up there leave before the end of the contract. If I had an APRC, the deposit would be unfair, but I do not.
The company can’t be sure I won’t just leave before the end of the contract, especially since my ARC expires before the end of the contract.
That’s racist. If they have a problem. They need to reform their policies. Not just point the finger at us.
Can you imagine saying most foreigners people such and such in Canada?
The company would be punished. What she said to you is disgusting.
If anything it is discrimination, not racism. They didn’t treat me differently because of my race. If I was Asian with a British passport the same rules would have applied.
Ok. It’s bigoted. Equally as disgusting.
I agree what Tstar is doing is very wrong.
GT though, in my opinion are protecting themselves. Why should they lose out just because most foreigners leave after a year? My ARC is valid for one year, and the contract goes past that, therefore I have no proof I am allowed to stay in Taiwan until the end of the contact.
299 is so cheap compared to Taiwan mobile, but is it reliable? I’m on Tstar and it is really unreliable in some parts of Taipei that I’ll probably drop it before the 1 month is up.
I have family on GT and they have no issues.
Then they may reform their policies to ensure their business is sustainable without resorting to bigotry.
Other countries do so just fine.