Hey guys and gals, in particular those from the US. Can someone tell me what numbers US cell phones use please? Mobiles (Cell Phones) in the UK are all of the form 07xxx xxx xxx. (Any non-fixed device actually.)
Well as some of our American Bittechies have said already I'll just say my daughters and son-in-laws mobiles have same format as their landline. Also do you realise they pay to recieve calls on Mobiles They may laugh at our 7.5 bucks a gallon gas so we can act horrified at the thought of paying to recieve a phone call from mum-in-law..
Indeed, this is one of the main differences between the mobile networks here and in the US - over here a mobile is a completely separate number with no connotations as to where you live - "area" codes are given out by network only. In the US you'll mostly get a number that's the same area code as your home phone, if you have a package that includes a mobile with your house telephone, or if you have a PAYG job it'll still usually be a "local" area code to where you buy it.
Dont really understand this comment here... but yes, we pay a flat rate (like $49.99) for x amount of minutes (like 1000). also, free weekends and nights.
That kinda makes sense. If it's impossible to distinguish between a land line and a mobile phone, the caller should not have to pay a premium to call a mobile if they do not know they're calling a mobile. It's like when I was on holiday recently and received a few calls from friends. They didn't know that I was abroad and nearly put the phone down when I told them. What they didn't realise was that although they pay the mobile-to-mobile cost, I pick up the tab for the international call because the caller doesn't know I'm abroad and it would be unfair to charge them the excess. One thing I'll mention is that when I arrived in New York, it was refreshing realising how much mobile networks have progressed. I didn't have to do anything yet my mobile was working perfectly normal, line quality was fine and even text messages come through promptly. Even more refreshing was returning to England and finding my bill wasn't even that much more than what I usually pay, maybe something to do with T-mobile being the same company in the US?
Yarg, I think im really confused now. It doesnt cost anything to make local calls here (usually within a few miles). So, If my cell was 555-555-5555 and my girlfriend called from her house (landline) in the 555 area code, it is free. Long distance calls always cost money, wether it is to another land line or a cell phone. Im confused with the "pay a premium to call a mobile"... can you please clarify? Thanks!
maybe this will be easier.. I pay $149 a month for a family plan wich is 4 phones with a (337)xxx-xxxx number for 1200 minutes shared between each phone a month (337 is part of louisiana). there is no long distance fee. most cell carriers are now nationwide. I can call anywhere in the us and only charge me my minutes.. i can call any landline or cell and only cost me minutes. but anytime between 7pm-6am all calls are free(no minute deductions) and any time saturday or sunday is free. does that help any EDIT any of the minutes we dont use during that month get carried over to the next month.. and at the end of the contract year they are gone. right now i have over 5k roll over minutes
This makes PERFECT sense to me and is exactly how mine is set-up (except night starts at 9pm and my minutes dont cary over). I dont understand what the whole thing is before with getting charged extra if calling a cellphone from a landline? thanks
OK, none of you seem to get it, you're just giving examples. In US: incoming/outgoing calls are charged (depending upon carrier and rate-plan). Long-distance is dependant upon multiple factors, but mainly it's within the state/area-code or city (depends upon how the mobile carrier is setup). In UK: outgoing calls are charged (depending upon carrier and rate-plan). I do not know how long-distance is setup, but I'm sure it's similar to US. In US: phone numbers are bought in "lots", these are often dictated by the second set of 3 numbers in a phone number. Each "lot" consists of 1000 numbers. Carriers lease these numbers out to customers, who then use them. Believe it or not, the same numbers can be used for either mobile or home numbers, as customers can now transfer phone numbers between different companies (this changed not too long ago via court orders). Area codes are there to define regions, thus allowing you to use the same number multiple times. In US: Say two people have the same 423-2459 number, what will differentiate them will be the area code (the first three numbers in a phone number). The 1 or 0 that goes in front of a standard phone number dictates what type of call it is. The 1 means charged to you (in long-distance situations), and 0 means a collect call. In US: Oh, as well, remember: ANY long distance incoming call placed to a cell phone will be charged to the customer, unless the customers phone has a plan setup to deal with this (most "long-distance" plans actually include provisions for this, but some don't). [EDIT]Fixed clarity issues[/EDIT]
Makes sense.... but is that above for US or UK? Do people in the UK not pay long distance? Sorry so many questions, really frustrated with school work right now and just... yea. thanks
Unfortunately while I worked for ATT and Cingular in the US I only learned about the US phone system, so somebody equaly experienced in the UK would have to answer that. In my statement above US/UK is clearly defined, but I've defined it more-so
You actually don't need the 1 in all areas of the united states (and if you didn't know 1 is the United States country code, and also the old digit to mean "paid toll call"). 11 digit dialing is mainly only in the larger cities of the country. Less populated areas of the country still use 7 digit dailing (you don't even need the area code). 10 digit dailing is only required in areas where there is more then 1 NPA code. EDIT: Also, NPA is the "area" code if that confuses anyone. The 3 digits after the NPA code is the CO code (central office), and the four digits on the end is the station (line) number.
In the UK we always include the 0 at the beginning of the area code. Area codes can be 3, 4, or 5 digits long (e.g. 020 for London, 0151 for Liverpool, 01491 for Henley-on-Thames), but the whole phone number will usually be 11 digits long. So thats 02x xxxx xxxx or 01xx xxx xxxx or 01xxx xxx xxx. (Larger Cities get the shorter area codes.) If you're using a landline you can omit the area code if you're calling within the area, as you'd expect. A few mobile handset/network combinations also allow this, but it's rare. Mobile (cell) numbers all start 07xxx, where the area code used to relate to the network, but people can move between them and hence move the number. There are other non-geographic area codes, some of which indicate premium rates. 0800 numbers are free to call. 999 for emergency services. Or 112 (required knowledge in the new Citizenship Exam) 100 for the operator. Also 150 on some networks (carriers), but am unsure of the details. It is also possible to have letters/words within phone numbers, as in the US. Especially now that we have matched your letter-number scheme.
