# If My Uncle In Germany Calls My Cell Phone..... **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 21, 2011, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-my-uncle-in-germany-calls-my-cell-phone/572156 "2011-02-21T23:08:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2011, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-my-uncle-in-germany-calls-my-cell-phone/572156/1 "2011-02-21T23:08:21Z")
… from his land line and I don’t have mine set up for international roaming, can I still get the call and what is the cost to me? Just minutes or some exorbitant fee? I am with the Verizon Friends and Family plan. I called a customer service rep who told me that my uncle would incur _his_ long distance fee billed by his TeleKom and I would be charged 7 cents per minute. That seems like a LOT. Because he speaks no English, I don’t want to give him my elderly sister in law’s number. THAT would be a hell of a mess: he speaks no English and she is 80 and senile. So if he can call me direct on the cell and it only count against minutes, that would be great. Additionally, I have an international calling card with 60 minutes left on it which I could use to call _him_ from my cell. Again the customer service rep says it will only count against my minutes when I call the 888 number and put in my pin, but I wanted to run by the Dopers as well, just to make sure. I HAVE been calling him from the land line belonging to my sister in law and using the phone card, but sometimes I’d like to call him when I am NOT near the land line. Thanks Quasi ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2011, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-my-uncle-in-germany-calls-my-cell-phone/572156/2 "2011-02-22T00:11:06Z")
Anyone calling your US cellphone will dial the same as they would to a landline in your cellphone’s area code. The US mixes cellphone and landline numbers, instead of separating them into different area codes, so foreign callers cannot distinguish between them or pay different rates to them. As far as I know, you’ll pay the same as for any other incoming call: airtime according to your plan, plus any long-distance or roaming fees from your cellphone’s home location to wherever it happens to be. The setup for international calling refers to your phone’s outgoing calling and location. Often, calling outwards to international numbers needs to be specifically enabled. But, even if you cannot dial outwards to an international number, you can still receive calls from one. Similarly, international roaming often needs to be specifically enabled. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2011, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-my-uncle-in-germany-calls-my-cell-phone/572156/3 "2011-02-22T02:19:20Z")
This is a trick question. It is your aunt! 😉 **Sunspace** is right. It would cost you the same as what it would cost you if I called you from a cell phone with a Cleveland area code. It would cost your uncle the same as if he called the land line. ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2011, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-my-uncle-in-germany-calls-my-cell-phone/572156/4 "2011-02-22T02:26:44Z")
**Zip**? Now you _know_ you oughta not _do_ that to an old man, who is on his last mental legs! :rolleyes:🙂 [_mutters_] Tryin’ to trick me! The Dopers is all alike! Twistin’ my words around…[/]_mutters_[/] ;):)😃 Haven’t heard from you in a while, lady! Hope you and yours are doin’ okay, and still remembering how you helped me on YouTube! I still go there every once in a while. Thanks, **Zip**!🙂 Your pal, Quasi ---
**Author:** ![constanze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@constanze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/constanze)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2011, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-my-uncle-in-germany-calls-my-cell-phone/572156/5 "2011-02-22T14:34:14Z")
> [@Quasimodem](#): > > I called a customer service rep who told me that my uncle would incur _his_ long distance fee billed by his TeleKom and I would be charged 7 cents per minute. That seems like a LOT. 7 cent a min. for an international call to a cellphone is a lot? Just what kind of charges do you expect? Usually, the caller pays the charge to the cell phone and to the borders, and the roaming charge from the boarder to the cell phone is paid by the receiver, but that’s for European numbers. ---
**Author:** ![Hbns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hbns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hbns)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2011, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-my-uncle-in-germany-calls-my-cell-phone/572156/6 "2011-02-22T15:18:19Z")
Can Uncle do VOIP? I’m currently in Germany and for a pretty reasonable fee I can dial landline and cell numbers anywhere from my laptop. I log between 15 and 20 hours a month in calls back to the States. I can even send text as well. Though you can do that without the fee on some sevices. ---
**Author:** ![glowacks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/glowacks/32/5548_2.png) [@glowacks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glowacks)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2011, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-my-uncle-in-germany-calls-my-cell-phone/572156/7 "2011-02-22T16:17:17Z")
7 cents a minute is probably the rate you pay for air time regardless. In my pre-paid plan I pay 25 cents a minute (but hardly ever use it, and pay nothing else). ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2011, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-my-uncle-in-germany-calls-my-cell-phone/572156/8 "2011-02-22T17:10:46Z")
> [@constanze](#): > > 7 cent a min. for an international call to a cellphone is a lot? Just what kind of charges do you expect? > > Usually, the caller pays the charge to the cell phone and to the borders, and the roaming charge from the boarder to the cell phone is paid by the receiver, but that’s for European numbers. I _expect_ (after checking), something a lot more reasonable. Like 1.7 cents a minute. [http://www.1stphonecard.com/countrycards.cfm?ToCountry=41](http://www.1stphonecard.com/countrycards.cfm?ToCountry=41)