Advice for calling US Mobile Phone?

Most US carriers had this feature for a while. Unless you've got an old grandfathered plan such does not exist any longer.

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Thus spaketh GlintingHedgehog:

Yes, this is possible.

it can mean using exactly the same network in the next county/city/state (delete where not applicable). It can also mean roaming onto analogue when falling off the digital map.

have a look/laugh at

for example.

Phil

On most plans, you don't pay for voicemail deposits.

For casual users, the UK system certainly makes the buy in cheaper. For large volume users, I think the US system is cheaper.

Mobile statistics aren't completely fair, however, an extra Virgin SIM sitting in a dresser qualifies as a UK mobile for statistic purposes.

Stu

Does anyone have stats for what proportion of the population have mobile phones in the UK compared to North America?

It seemed to me that last time I lived in the latter (until about 1.5 years ago), more people (proportionally) had mobiles here in the UK. I'm sure that the possibility of being contact-able, without having to pay for a contract, is the major reason for that. Certainly I wouldn't have had a mobile phone when I first did if I'd had to sign up to a contract. I used a PAYG for about four years before getting a contract, and if I couldn't get a "free" contract (via cashback deal) I would go back to PAYG now. For me - and I'm sure I'm not alone in this - being available for people to contact is more important than being able to make calls when I'm out. It's rare that I need to make a call that can't wait a couple of hours until I'm next to a landline, but I find it reassuring that I can be contacted in an emergency at any time (I have elderly family members and four children).

In message of Wed, 25 May 2005, Stuart Friedman writes

Duh, he fully understands the advantages of not forcing callers to pay extra depending on what type of phone they call. He is just being obstinate.

On prepaid, the best plans charge 10¢ per minute. See

. Also, if you divide the monthly cost of a postpaid plan, by the number of included peak minutes, it works out to around 10¢ per minute on the plans with the minimum number of included minutes..

Some prepaid plans charge for this, but most do not. Also, you can listen to your voicemail from a landline, and save your minutes.

This is a key point. If you look at

and compare costs to call the UK, it's 2.5¢ per minute to call a landline, and 28.10¢ to call a mobile phone. So the international caller is paying about 25¢ a minute extra to call a mobile phone.

What is the cost to the caller in the UK, to call a mobile phone in the UK?

Are there free nights and weekends for calls to mobile phones?

To follow-up on my own post, I found a 2004 research paper on the subject of CPP versus RPP:

"There has been widespread concern at the level of mobile termination charges, leading to increasingly severe price controls. Oftel and the Competition Commission identified the Caller Pays Principle (CPP) as the source of the market power that enabled termination charges to be set above cost. Both accepted that the alternative Receiver Pays Principle (RPP) would solve the monopoly problem, but rejected it primarily because RPP might lead to significant numbers of users switching off their mobile phones. Evidence from RPP countries is consistent with RPP solving market power problems. CPP is almost certainly less efficient than RPP. US and other evidence suggests that the argument about customers switching off phones is not tenable. If the aim is efficient resource allocation, undistorted by excessive termination charges and subsidised handsets, to be achieved by competition rather than price controls, then RPP is preferable to CPP."

See:

Look at page 30, where he cites the difference in the cost of average calls between the U.S. and Europe (I would quote it, but the author states "Not to be quoted without permission."

It's the mobile network operators in Europe that don't want RPP! Their revenue would plunge, because mobile calls would cost a lot less. They've brainwashed people into believing that "incoming calls are free" when of course this is completely false. Someone is paying, and it's usually someone the receiving party knows, and overall, the cost is much higher.

The RPP system is cheaper and more efficient. The receiving party does not have to pay for unwanted calls, they simply do not answer calls from numbers that they do not recognize.

The key to converting Europe to RPP may lie in implementing FIMF (first incoming minute free), to eliminate the fear that some subscribers have about being charged for calls that they do not want to receive.

"chancellor of the duchy of besses o' th' barn and prestwich tesco" wrote in

Thanks. This confirms what the researcher stated

The cost of mobile phone calls in Europe is much, much higher than in the U.S..

It's the carriers in Europe that don't want RPP, since their revenue would plunge as the price of mobile calls drops dramatically. They have succeeded in convincing people that "incoming calls are free," isn't that just terrific?! In fact, the actual cost per call is far higher than under RPP.

So the best plan for use in Europe, is to try to always be sure that the mobile phone calls a landline, and to avoid calling a mobile phone whenever possible, due to the high termination charges, unless it's a mobile on the same network.

Do they charge the sender to send a text message from a computer to a phone?

Thus spaketh Joseph:

Maybe I was a little harsh, it just annoys me sometimes when people don't realise we can have a difference of opinion and neither one of us is right or wrong, and you mention about a broken record, when you are just as much one.

"chancellor of the duchy of besses o' th' barn and prestwich tesco" wrote in

In the U.S., you can send a message to a mobile phone from a regular e-mail, without any charge. Some mobile plans don't charge for incoming text messages. I.e., I got a prepaid phone for my daughter, it's as low as 10 cents per minute, no minumums, no expiration of time, and had free incoming text messages.

It will vary depending on the company you call, but many third party providers have set rates. The company I use charges 10p a minute anytime during the week- and 3p a minute at weekends, plus a 3p set up charge. It costs the same whether I make the call from a landline or from my mobile. I can call landlines from my mobile for a 3p set up charge- thereafter unlimited. Anytime. I call the US from my mobile for 1p a minute anytime- I have 1500 free minutes (offpeak and weekend) a month to call the US and many other countries. Simply put, there are advantages and disadvantages in both systems- I prefer the plan I have!

I don't know- I would doubt it. Plenty of mobile phone plans have free (or lots of) minutes for calling landlines (and mobiles on the same company) though.

[]

I don't remember that thread.

Given the population density and size of Singapore, it's apples and oranges.

No, not GSM. Only TDMA. There is a GSM plan that is 10¢ per minute, but it's with a minimum of $25 per month. But in the U.S., TDMA coverage is much, much better than GSM coverage, at least for now. And the TDMA phones can also use AMPS, which means you get as much coverage as possible (there are only two GSM phones that have AMPS capability, and they are not easily available).

See

It varies greatly depending on which mobile network, which landline provider, and the time of day.

Peak rates are generally between 10-22p per min. Off peak and weekends are cheaper.

I use TalkTalk for my landline, rates are here (they also show BT rates):

Nope.

-- Andy

Either you have a plan I'd be very interested in, or you have an interesting definition of the word "free". Are you sure you don't mean "inclusive"?

-- Andy