# Cell phone numbers go public tomorrow
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-numbers-go-public-tomorrow/470139
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [October 29, 2008, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-numbers-go-public-tomorrow/470139 "2008-10-29T20:15:14Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 2
### Author:  [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)
#### Post date: [October 29, 2008, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-numbers-go-public-tomorrow/470139/21 "2008-10-29T22:17:59Z")
> [@Frylock](#):
>
> So to make sure I understand, if I use my home phone to call a cell phone, I’m charged extra for the call? (“Extra” as in, more than it would have been had I been calling another land line.)
This is correct, or at least it was when i last lived in Australia.
Our landline phone bill had a special section for calls to mobile phones. The rates were very high, often around $1.00 for a one-minute call. That was 8 years ago; i assume the price has gone down, given the massive take-up of cellphones in Australia since then.
---
### Author:  [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)
#### Post date: [October 29, 2008, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-numbers-go-public-tomorrow/470139/22 "2008-10-29T22:25:07Z")
Missed the edit window.
[Here](http://www.telstra.com.au/homephone/plans/homeline_advanced.html) is a fairly standard home phone package from Telstra, Australia’s biggest provider:
```auto
Calls to mobiles
Capped calls to Telstra mobiles $2.00 for up to 20 mins (24 hrs, 7 days)
Calls to Telstra mobiles 33c /min - charged per 30 second block (24 hrs, 7 days)
Capped calls to non-Telstra mobiles $2.00 for up to 20 mins (24 hrs, 7 days)
Calls to non-Telstra mobiles 37c /min - charged per 30 second block (24 hrs, 7 days)
```
---
### Author:  [@rbroome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rbroome)
#### Post date: [October 29, 2008, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-numbers-go-public-tomorrow/470139/23 "2008-10-29T22:31:33Z")
> [@mhendo](#):
>
> Missed the edit window.
>
> [Here](http://www.telstra.com.au/homephone/plans/homeline_advanced.html) is a fairly standard home phone package from Telstra, Australia’s biggest provider:
>
> ```auto
>
> Calls to mobiles
>
> Capped calls to Telstra mobiles $2.00 for up to 20 mins (24 hrs, 7 days)
> Calls to Telstra mobiles 33c /min - charged per 30 second block (24 hrs, 7 days)
> Capped calls to non-Telstra mobiles $2.00 for up to 20 mins (24 hrs, 7 days)
> Calls to non-Telstra mobiles 37c /min - charged per 30 second block (24 hrs, 7 days)
>
> ```
wow. I like the US system better. much cheaper.
at least for me.
---
### Author:  [@FORTRAN\_forever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FORTRAN_forever)
#### Post date: [October 29, 2008, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-numbers-go-public-tomorrow/470139/24 "2008-10-29T23:09:12Z")
> [@Spezza](#):
>
> In Canada two of the largest cellular providers now charge for unsolicited incoming text messages! This is what happens when the State doesn’t regulate the industry.
It’s not just in Canada. I’m in the US, and just switched my service to Verizon (because it covered the areas I’m in better than my previous carrier did). We bought Verizon’s basic service plan (700 voice minutes/month for a fixed fee, pay-as-you-go data services).
One of my golfing buddies sent me two (unsolicited) text messages just for a lark. Verizon charged me 20 cents apiece to receive those text messages. Presumably they’d charge me the same 20 cents regardless of who sent me those text messages.
(Oh, yes, I purchased a ringtone from Verizon for $2.99. they charged me $2.99 for the ringtone and $3.99 in data charges for downloading it. AARRGGHH!!!)
---
### Author:  [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)
#### Post date: [October 29, 2008, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-numbers-go-public-tomorrow/470139/25 "2008-10-29T23:16:26Z")
> [@Frylock](#):
>
> So to make sure I understand, if I use my home phone to call a cell phone, I’m charged extra for the call? (“Extra” as in, more than it would have been had I been calling another land line.)
Generally, in caller-pays-all schemes, yes\*.
Some home phone packages also have tweaks and deals such as inclusive minutes or discounts or free calls for certain types of call though.
\*And in the UK, it’s just generally accepted that calling a mobile costs a bit more than calling a land line - so it’s something people do, or avoid quite knowingly - particularly as mobile numbers have a distinct, non-regional set of dialling prefixes.
---
### Author:  [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)
#### Post date: [October 29, 2008, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-numbers-go-public-tomorrow/470139/26 "2008-10-29T23:22:47Z")
Explain the European plans for this to make any sense. My phone is about $ 75 a month, I never use up my minutes, all calls between 7 PM and 7AM are free, and Saturdays and Sundays are totally free. I have rollover so when I don’t use my minutes they roll over to the next month. I have thousands of unused minutes.
How do European plans compare to that? Back in the days of internet dial-up I was incredulous that phone companies had line charges for local calls which we never had in the US. This was cited as one of the main reasons for lack of net saturation of Europeans.
---
### Author:  [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)
#### Post date: [October 29, 2008, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-numbers-go-public-tomorrow/470139/27 "2008-10-29T23:30:17Z")
> [@mswas](#):
>
> How do European plans compare to that? Back in the days of internet dial-up I was incredulous that phone companies had line charges for local calls which we never had in the US. This was cited as one of the main reasons for lack of net saturation of Europeans.
That sounds somewhat like a European call plan, I get quite a few free minutes and texts a month, with stipulations as to what I’m charged for calls outside the free time.
It used to be that to access the internet we dialed out through a phone line using an 0845 number (charged at some sort of local rate) while at the same time paying a monthly fee to our ISP, £10 - £15 a month. Then Freeserve (and other ISPs shortly after) scrapped the ISP fee and we paid for the phone call only. Later we paid a flat fee per month with data downloaded capped.
---
### Author:  [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)
#### Post date: [October 29, 2008, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-numbers-go-public-tomorrow/470139/28 "2008-10-29T23:36:25Z")
> [@mswas](#):
>
> Explain the European plans for this to make any sense. My phone is about $ 75 a month, I never use up my minutes, all calls between 7 PM and 7AM are free, and Saturdays and Sundays are totally free. I have rollover so when I don’t use my minutes they roll over to the next month. **I have thousands of unused minutes.**
A bit off topic but doesn’t that mean you should be on a cheaper plan?
---
### Author:  [@robcaro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robcaro)
#### Post date: [October 29, 2008, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-numbers-go-public-tomorrow/470139/29 "2008-10-29T23:36:57Z")
Here in Colombia we don’t have to pay for incoming calls to our cell phones. When we lived in Florida, we did pay for incoming calls.
---
### Author:  [@Desert\_Nomad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desert_Nomad)
#### Post date: [October 29, 2008, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-numbers-go-public-tomorrow/470139/30 "2008-10-29T23:42:19Z")
> [@racer72](#):
>
> I have never paid to receive a phone call on my cell phone. Unless one exceeds the number of minutes they pay for with their carrier, no one pays to receive phone calls. This is probably true anywhere in the world.
But received calls don’t count against minutes either, only outbound calls.
---
### Author:  [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)
#### Post date: [October 30, 2008, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-numbers-go-public-tomorrow/470139/31 "2008-10-30T00:09:06Z")
A better question might be why the caller pays but the recipient doesn’t, in situations where it works that way (including American land-line long distance). Every week, I talk to my mom on the phone. We both enjoy these calls, and we both get about the same amount of value from them. Why would it make sense for one of us to pay for the call, but not the other, when we’re both getting the same service?
---
### Author:  [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)
#### Post date: [October 30, 2008, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-numbers-go-public-tomorrow/470139/32 "2008-10-30T00:19:54Z")
> [@Chronos](#):
>
> A better question might be why the caller pays but the recipient doesn’t,
Um, because the person who makes the purchasing decision should be the one paying the cost? If you want to talk to me shouldn’t YOU pay for the call? If I enjoy talking to you then I might call you and pay for the call.
I do not want to be receiving calls I do not want and have to pay for them on top of that.
---
### Author:  [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)
#### Post date: [October 30, 2008, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-numbers-go-public-tomorrow/470139/33 "2008-10-30T00:29:57Z")
> [@racer72](#):
>
> I have never paid to receive a phone call on my cell phone. Unless one exceeds the number of minutes they pay for with their carrier, no one pays to receive phone calls. This is probably true anywhere in the world.
Get a TracFone. You pay for both calling and receiving. OTOH you don’t pay a monthly fee, exactly.
I pay if I receive texts as well. It’s rare for me to get one, so unless I know whom it’s from, I simply don’t accept it and don’t get charged.
---
### Author:  [@gazpacho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gazpacho)
#### Post date: [October 30, 2008, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-numbers-go-public-tomorrow/470139/34 "2008-10-30T00:38:11Z")
If the 33 Australian a minute is typical of what callers are charged it looks to me the main reason for caller pays is that it is hugely profitable for the phone companies. I can make long distance calls to anywhere in the US for less than 22 cents (33 cent Australian) a minute from my cell phone.
---
### Author:  [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)
#### Post date: [October 30, 2008, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-numbers-go-public-tomorrow/470139/35 "2008-10-30T00:40:59Z")
> [@Spezza](#):
>
> In Canada two of the largest cellular providers now charge for unsolicited incoming text messages! This is what happens when the State doesn’t regulate the industry.
Here are 4 cartoons from UserFriendly on that
[First](http://ars.userfriendly.org/cartoons/?id=20080813&mode=classic)
[Second](http://ars.userfriendly.org/cartoons/?id=20080814&mode=classic)
[Third](http://ars.userfriendly.org/cartoons/?id=20080815&mode=classic)
[Forth](http://ars.userfriendly.org/cartoons/?id=20080816&mode=classic)
---
### Author:  [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)
#### Post date: [October 30, 2008, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-numbers-go-public-tomorrow/470139/36 "2008-10-30T01:10:48Z")
> [@Chronos](#):
>
> A better question might be why the caller pays but the recipient doesn’t, in situations where it works that way (including American land-line long distance). Every week, I talk to my mom on the phone. We both enjoy these calls, and we both get about the same amount of value from them. Why would it make sense for one of us to pay for the call, but not the other, when we’re both getting the same service?
Simple. Not every incoming caller is my mother.
---
### Author:  [@Apollyon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apollyon)
#### Post date: [October 30, 2008, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-numbers-go-public-tomorrow/470139/37 "2008-10-30T01:19:48Z")
> [@Chronos](#):
>
> A better question might be why the caller pays but the recipient doesn’t, in situations where it works that way (including American land-line long distance). Every week, I talk to my mom on the phone. We both enjoy these calls, and we both get about the same amount of value from them. Why would it make sense for one of us to pay for the call, but not the other, when we’re both getting the same service?
How do land-line long distance calls work in the US? Does the caller pay the entire charge or does the receiver pay half? Assuming the former (which I \*think \*is how it works) why should it matter whether the call is being made from a land-line or cell-phone?
---
### Author:  [@groman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/groman)
#### Post date: [October 30, 2008, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-numbers-go-public-tomorrow/470139/38 "2008-10-30T01:36:22Z")
> [@Pushkin](#):
>
> That sounds somewhat like a European call plan, I get quite a few free minutes and texts a month, with stipulations as to what I’m charged for calls outside the free time.
What’s “outside the free time”? When you use up all your free minutes or are the free minutes only good at certain times?
Here in the US on T-Mobile, for about $90 a month I get free nights and weekends (unlimited airtime, incoming or outgoing), unlimited calls to/from any of 5 pre-selected by me numbers (I can switch them once a month), unlimited text messages, unlimited multimedia messages, unlimited anytime data usage, and 600 anytime minutes for calls not otherwise specified. No extra charge for calling long distance anywhere in the US.
My phone number is just a free local call for a lot of people, and nobody knows it’s a cell phone. I’d hate to live in a country where the area code makes cell phones distinct.
---
### Author:  [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)
#### Post date: [October 30, 2008, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-numbers-go-public-tomorrow/470139/39 "2008-10-30T02:00:49Z")
I’m an American living in the United States, but spend a lot of time in Mexico, where “caller pays.”
“Minutes” in the United States are so cheap, that if you can’t afford incoming calls, you shouldn’t afford a cell phone. Period. No discussion. They’re _that_ cheap, that if you can afford cellular service, then you can afford incoming calls. An old granny that keeps a phone for emergency use? Either leave it off, or don’t give out your number. There’s no excuse for being overburdened by paying for incoming calls.
From the US, calling cell phones from Mexico is transparent. My rate is the same, and I’m guessing that it’s covered in intercarrier or international agreements or something. No big deal. No special prefices.
From inside Mexico, calling a cell phone is a major pain in the ass. I’m assuming Mexicans have it down, or always provide the prefix in the antiquated manner that we used to here (1-313 instead of just 313). To me, it’s a pain. I don’t see that normal Mexicans give me the prefix. They just assume that I know it’s a cell phone, and that I should know to dial the 44. Except, what if it’s interlada? What if I don’t know it’s a cell phone? I usually have to dial three or four times before I get it right. And why? Just because the butt-wipe who decided to have a cell phone doesn’t want to be bothered that people actually call him? (to be fair, it was a government rule imposed on everyone when all the mommies and daddies were sick of their children’s cell phone bills).
Service is so cheap, there’s no excuse for this.
On the other hand, minutes do have a small associated cost, and as such telemarketers should still be blocked! 😉
---
### Author:  [@gazpacho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gazpacho)
#### Post date: [October 30, 2008, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-numbers-go-public-tomorrow/470139/40 "2008-10-30T02:52:21Z")
I have a question for people living in countries where the caller to the phone pays for the air time. What do you typically pay per minute. The link from mhendo or 33 Australian cents per minute seems incredibly high to me. Do your phone services come with an included amount of time per month calling cell phones or something?
In the states most cell phone contracts above say $40 a month include free night and weekend minutes. No long distance charges. Free minutes calling someone on the same network. You really have to work to use up your minutes.
I pay $40 a month for 450 minutes (not including the above night or weekend or others on verizon)
[Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-numbers-go-public-tomorrow/470139.md?page=1)
[Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-numbers-go-public-tomorrow/470139.md?page=3)