Advice for calling US Mobile Phone?

Jerome Zelinske wrote:
> Then your news reader is as flawed as your wireless system.
> "There is a strong customer demand for plans that have same cost to
> all phones", then why don't they. Why are calls from european land
> lines and from international phones to european wireless phones more
> expensive than calls to european land line phones?

That pricing is set by the international carrier. The mobile carrier has
nothing to do with it. The international carrier has no interests in
leveling the prices as that would probably mean rising the cost to call
landlines.

> Who my local wireless carrier is and whether I am using one of it's
> international plans or a calling card has no effect on my cost to call a
> foreign mobile being higher than to a land line. It is the foreign
> mobile operator's charge that is making the call more expensive.

Osmo

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Osmo R wrote:

> So which is it? Does CPP always lead to high prices or is Finland an
> exception? And if Finland is an exception, what could be the reason for it?

Finland's cost structure is different because Finland's telecomm structure
is primarily wireless - AS I'VE SAID BEFORE IN THIS THREAD, there is a much
higher ratio of wireless uses to wireline users in Finland than anywhere
else. Pay attention.


--
JustThe.net - Apple Valley, CA - http://JustThe.net/ - 888.480.4NET (4638)
Steven J. Sobol, Geek In Charge / [email protected] / PGP: 0xE3AE35ED

"The wisdom of a fool won't set you free"
--New Order, "Bizarre Love Triangle"

"Steve Sobol" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Osmo R wrote:
>
> > So which is it? Does CPP always lead to high prices or is Finland an
> > exception? And if Finland is an exception, what could be the reason for
it?
>
> Finland's cost structure is different because Finland's telecomm structure
> is primarily wireless - AS I'VE SAID BEFORE IN THIS THREAD, there is a
much
> higher ratio of wireless uses to wireline users in Finland than anywhere
> else. Pay attention.

The termination charges to mobile phones in Finland are still quite high,
and CPP is almost certainly the reason. Look at a table of comparative
termination charges to mobile phones throughout the world, and you can at
least see relative costs (the U.S. carrier marks up the cost, but at least
the relative costs can be seen). Finland is slightly less than France,
Germany, Switzerland, and the UK, but not by a lot.

http://www.bellsouth.com/consumer/bs...rmination.html

Steven M. Scharf wrote:

>
> The termination charges to mobile phones in Finland are still quite high,
> and CPP is almost certainly the reason. Look at a table of comparative
> termination charges to mobile phones throughout the world, and you can at
> least see relative costs (the U.S. carrier marks up the cost, but at least
> the relative costs can be seen). Finland is slightly less than France,
> Germany, Switzerland, and the UK, but not by a lot.

But the termination charges are just something that operators pay to
each other. They are not paid by the callers. Their influence on the
caller prices is not so simple. Sure they have some effect but as long
as the calls spread evenly between networks the termination fees even
up. That operators lose on outgoing inter-network calls they gain in
incoming ones.

>
> http://www.bellsouth.com/consumer/bs...rmination.html
>

Those are charges international callers using that specific operator
pay. They have nothing to do with Finnish domestic calls. The
termination fees between mobile operators are 6.8-10 cents per minute
(without VAT) with largest networks having smallest ones.

Osmo

Does the international callers home land line or wireless carrier or
his long distance carrier say, "We will charge the caller more for
calling a european wireless phone than for calling a european land line
phone"? No, it is the european wireless carrier that is charging more,
and that cost is just getting passed down to the caller.

Jerome Zelinske wrote:
> Does the international callers home land line or wireless carrier or
> his long distance carrier say, "We will charge the caller more for
> calling a european wireless phone than for calling a european land
> line phone"?

Yes, the international carrier lists two prices on its price list. One
for calling to landlines and another for mobiles. These prices are of
course based on what it cost to them but it is the international carrier
which sets the price. My default international carrier (same as my
mobile carrier) for example charges 22 cent premium for calling to
foreign mobiles.

> No, it is the european wireless carrier that is charging more, and
> that cost is just getting passed down to the caller.

Of course the wireless carrier that handles the call will want its
money. So?

Osmo

So, if someone over there wants me to call him, he better give me a
land line number, because I will not pay for his choice, for his
convenience of being mobile. If I get my long distance bill, and in
addition to my long distance company's charges to call a country, I see
some wireless operator's charges passed down, then I will not call that
number again, and may just send the person I called a complaint letter.

If I want my home phone to ring, in other words if I want other people
to be able to call me, then I pay my monthly land line phone bill.
Likewise, if I want my wireless phone to ring, I pay my monthly wireless
phone bill. I do not expect the caller to pay for my phone to ring.

If a wireless carrier using your billing were to launch over here,
their subscribers would soon find out that few people outside of other
subscribers of the same network would call them after the callers got
their first bill.
Well, maybe some would subscribe to get more work done without their
phone interrupting them so much. hihi

It really amazes me. India is the cheapest place for cellular plans.
For $4.00 a month they give you unlimited incoming minutes and $0.20
per minute for calling anywhere within India (with unlimited in-network
minutes from few carriers).

A prepaid can go upto a month long with free incoming for $4.00 as
well. I don't believe any other country beats this.

If I were you, I would buy a XDA and present it to my girlfriend
configured with www.skype.com or www.freeworlddialup.com softphones. If
I have a VOIP phone here, she will call me anytime. If not, she can
signal me with two/three rings and I will call her back with a local UK
number on her XDA.

FYI: there are several Hot-Spots in coffee shops, malls and work places
where XDA will work great.


Sekhar.
www.sekhar.net/call

Jerome Zelinske wrote:
> So, if someone over there wants me to call him, he better give me a
> land line number, because I will not pay for his choice, for his
> convenience of being mobile. If I get my long distance bill, and in
> addition to my long distance company's charges to call a country, I see
> some wireless operator's charges passed down, then I will not call that
> number again, and may just send the person I called a complaint letter.

If one has both numbers it is customary to give both. However, reaching
someone from the landline could be hard. Do not expect others to open
landlines just so that you could call them.

Osmo

Osmo R wrote:
> Jerome Zelinske wrote:
>> So, if someone over there wants me to call him, he better give me a
>> land line number, because I will not pay for his choice, for his
>> convenience of being mobile. If I get my long distance bill, and in
>> addition to my long distance company's charges to call a country, I see
>> some wireless operator's charges passed down, then I will not call that
>> number again, and may just send the person I called a complaint letter.
>
> If one has both numbers it is customary to give both. However, reaching
> someone from the landline could be hard. Do not expect others to open
> landlines just so that you could call them.

Do not be so arrogant as to believe that others should pay for the
privilege of talking to you.

--
I miss my .signature.

Sekhar <[email protected]> wrote:
> It really amazes me. India is the cheapest place for cellular plans.
> For $4.00 a month they give you unlimited incoming minutes and $0.20
> per minute for calling anywhere within India (with unlimited in-network
> minutes from few carriers).

Here in Malaysia I have to pay US$2.50 per month (the minimum recharge to
keep my SIM from expiring) for unlimited incoming minutes, and then about
US$0.12 per outgoing minute within Malaysia and to a few other countries
(such as the USA).

miguel
--
Hit The Road! Photos from 36 countries on 5 continents: http://travel.u.nu
Latest photos: Queens Day in Amsterdam; the Grand Canyon; Amman, Jordan

Miguel Cruz wrote:

>>It really amazes me. India is the cheapest place for cellular plans.
>>For $4.00 a month they give you unlimited incoming minutes and $0.20
>>per minute for calling anywhere within India (with unlimited in-network
>>minutes from few carriers).
>
> Here in Malaysia I have to pay US$2.50 per month (the minimum recharge to
> keep my SIM from expiring) for unlimited incoming minutes, and then about
> US$0.12 per outgoing minute within Malaysia and to a few other countries
> (such as the USA).

Not to burst your bubble, but isn't it possible that the difference in
prices are due to differences in value between the rupee and Malaysia's
currency, and the US Dollar? I mean, isn't *everything* in those countries a
lot cheaper than it is in the US?

--
JustThe.net - Apple Valley, CA - http://JustThe.net/ - 888.480.4NET (4638)
Steven J. Sobol, Geek In Charge / [email protected] / PGP: 0xE3AE35ED

"The wisdom of a fool won't set you free"
--New Order, "Bizarre Love Triangle"

Steve Sobol wrote:
> Miguel Cruz wrote:

>>> For $4.00 a month they give you unlimited incoming minutes and $0.20
>>> per minute for calling anywhere within India ...
>>
>> Here in Malaysia I have to pay US$2.50 per month (the minimum recharge to
>> keep my SIM from expiring) for unlimited incoming minutes...

No no, in Germany Prepaid cards are about 20$-25$ per year unlimited
incoming. So that is not only possible in 3rd world counties.

I do have a contract in Germany which is 0$ per month for the first two
years, 3 Euro-cent outgoing per minute to fixed lines in Germany and
unlimited incoming minutes. Just look at www.bmwmobil.de and you see its
an offer of the BMW car company!

Wolfgang