Taiwan Travel: Prepaid 3G SIM card in Taiwan
Before you can go on full throttle to find accommodation for the next few months/ years in Taipei, you will need your mobile phone and a Taiwan phone number. If you arrive in Taoyuan International Airport after 8 AM and before 8 or 9 PM, you can buy the SIM card for your phone in the airport. You can simply visit one of these booths.
There are 3 telecommunication providers in Taiwan but they more or less offer similar packages for prepaid SIM card:
1. Taiwan Mobile (台灣大哥大)
2. Chunghwa Telecom (中華電信)
3. Far East Tone (遠傳電信)
What if you arrived in Taiwan at late nights or early mornings? I arrived quite late and these booths were already closed. U_U.
If that also happen to you, you need to go to the telecommunication provider's stores in downtown Taipei to buy the SIM card. I went to the one located closest to Shida and it happened to be Taiwan Mobile. I got this one for NTD345. A passport is required to get a number here.
If you are studying Mandarin in Shida, you will spot a lady setting up a booth (actually a table and a chair) just outside room 606 at Bo-Ai Building (which is where Mandarin Training Center is located). You can get a Chunghwa's prepaid 3G sim card from her for free. You just need to bring your passport and your student ID card, which means, the best time to do this is right after your registration. I will post it again when I share about the registration procedure at Shida. You need to buy the recharge voucher to top up the balance though. The recharge voucher for all three telco providers can be bought at convenience stores like 7-11, Hi-Life and Family Mart.