Calls from wireless (USA) ... calls to wireless in most parts of the
> world attract a charge to the calling party ... substantial though
> nowhere near what the big USA telcos charge (from landline or
> wireless).
That's sort of a red herring, and it's definitely a topic that has been argued to death between people in North America who think that caller-pays mobile is a ripoff since the actual per-minute rates that people pay are much higher than they are here, and people in other countries who think that "free" inbound calls that overcharge their friends are great. (You can probably tell which way I feel.)
It's true, US mobile carriers charge ridiculous prices for international calls. Fortunately, calling cards with reasonable international rates are widely available, and it is not hard at all to program your phone's phone book to make international calls using a calling card with a US 800 number. At this point, the mobile carriers are clearly depending on the expense account crowd who don't care what their calls cost, and probably making private reasonably priced deals with their big customers, but sooner or later they'll figure out that their overall revenue will be greater if they offer prices that will encourage their users to make more calls.
R's,
John