I travel a lot for business, so I got to thinking about my cell phone.
If I’m traveling and someone in the town I’m in calls my cell from a land line it’s a long distance call even though I could be in the same building. With nationwide calling plans, assuming there’s service, you can be anywhere and call anywhere from a cell phone to a land line and have it be the same as a local call. But not the other way around.
I could be wrong, but if a cell phone company has a presence in your area and the area you’re calling, there’s no real cost difference to the cell company which area you’re calling. It’s all the same network. The only reason I can see for charging long distance rates to the caller with the land line is because he’s dialing a different area code. It’s a result of piggy backing the cell phone network onto the land line network.
Wouldn’t it be nice if a block of area codes were set aside (or some similar mechanism) for cell phones so that calling one from anywhere was also just like a local call? You would in effect be calling the local number of the cell phone company network and then the number of the phone on that network.
Yeah, I know I’m being too logical and that would eliminate profit for the cell phone companies and VoIP is coming on and so on and on. Sort of like the dream in the US of using any cell phone on any network. Ah, but what a nice dream…
Actually, Japan has a system where they allocate certain area codes just to cell phones, however the way they charge is the opposite of ours. Receiving a cell call in Japan is free to the mobile phone owner and incurs no expenditure of minutes. The caller pays all, whether he’s on a cell or landline. Hence, it’s essential that cell area codes be different so you know when you’ll be making a pricey call to a cell phone. When I got my first cell phone in Japan in 1994 there were two cell area codes and they would change based on how far the cell was from its “home”. If you called the “cell is close to home” area code and got an error message you had to redial the “cell is long distance” area code. The cost to the caller was based on the area code dialed. I’m not sure if it’s still that way now, but I hope they’ve changed. This just shows that allocating separate area codes to cell phones is certainly possible, but not always a good thing.
Heh, this used to float around in an email with this “note” attached. It’s one of my favorite emails.
“Hey Everybody,
I don’t know if you’ve heard, but starting March 1, 2004 you will no longer be able to use a cell phone while driving unless you have a “hands free” adapter. I went to Circuit City and they wanted $50 for a headset with a boom microphone for my cell phone. Having a friend in the cell phone business, I talked with him and was able to come up with an alternative,working through Office Depot.
These kits are compatible with any mobile phone and one size fits all. I paid $0.08 each because he bought in quantity. I’m selling them for only $1.00. I tried them out on Erickson, Motorola, Nokia phones and they worked perfectly.
A photo is attached (or scroll down). Take a look and let me know if you want one. Also, forward this to anyone you know who may want one! ”
Of course, in the UK, that’s exactly what happens: mobiles have their own area codes, so you instantly know it’s a mobile you’re calling.
This is good news, since it’s clear I’m going to catch whoever I’m calling on their mobile.
But this also means that instead of paying a local call (typically 5 cents per minute daytime) or a national call (typically 10 cents a minute daytime), the caller ends up paying a mobile rate (typically around 35 cents a minute).
Careful what you wish for – it might come true…
Ughh, John… What you lay out as your ‘dream’ is actually how cell phone networks are set up everywhere in the world, for the exception of North America (ie area codes exclusively dedicated to mobile operators). I thought you said you travel a great deal… do you ever actually leave US soil, or are these all ‘virtual’ trips…?
Vanilla Ice Cream sunday would be nice tooo.
Years back the middle number in the area code was either a 1 or a zero
They ran out of numbers and created all kinds of area codes that make no sence at all
The system needs a major U know what.
Check out http://www.nanpa.com/
This is worth exploring http://www.tndatabase.com/
TNT lists every area code right down to the actual numbers database office switch and record.
This is an artifact of the old regulatory market for telephones (and the old mechanisms for trunking long distance), and market forces will undoubtedly eliminate national long distance in the near future. Right now the VOIP companies (e.g., Vonage, packet 8) are location-independent and all calls are the same. The telcos will have to give up long distance – and “local long distance” which is invariably more expensive – if the intend to stay in the phone business. For once, the market kind of works!
The dreams and schemes of technology; grand fantasies spun by hard working but occasionally unrealistically wistful people. Planet Earth will one day see the fruits of transparent technology, fully realized networks that sustain and tie people together in ways that enrich without wars, fullfill without polluting and enable all to achieve their individual potential without undercutting the dreams of others.
But I seriously doubt that this happy state of affairs will come during the human reign as dominant species, as we are seriously challenged in the good sense department.
Maybe the dogs, or the dolphins, or even the ants will get it all together.
My country is half-way like what John suggested.
Cell phones have their own area code and it is a long distance call to/from ANY land line. (charged to the caller)
Cell to cell calls, anywhere in the whole country, are local.
This is actually OK because almost every adult and most kids have their own cell phones. Land lines are for business, modems, faxes, etc.
In Singapore, we used to have 7 digit phone numbers. A lot (a lot) of people started getting cell phones and so we added a 9 in front of all cell phone numbers and then added a 6 in front of all land line numbers to make them 8 digits. So you can know easily if you are calling a land line or cell phone.
They charge by usage though. If you use your land line more you pay more, but its minimal.
Dave,
1. I guess the by-lines need to be posted in a larger font (if possible). No one seems to read them.
2. The picture with this post reminded me that I have a cell phone dream too. It was prompted by my blue-tooth hands free device. I want the hands free device to be my phone. No camera. No Video. No music. No color backlit display. The voice dialing I have now works great. Program it via computer. Battery could be small without all the extra crap.
Just a dream.
A few years ago when they needed more area codes in Eastern Massachusetts, the question was whether to assign the new codes geographically or as an overlay to the current areas. It was suggested the new codes be used only for cell phones and faxes, but the FCC squashed it. They said it would create a class distinction. Now we’ve got overlay area codes and 10 digit dialing even to call the house next door. Though it is possible to have 7 digits in the same area and 10 to the other, once again, the FCC said that would put people in the other code at a disadvantage. Sounds like affirmative dialing to me.
In the old days, before SS7 and IS-41 were wide spread in the world of mobile telephones, every carrier had ‘mobile roaming numbers’ that did exactly as John suggests. You could call a local 7/10 digit number, get dial tone back, then input the 10 digit number of the cell phone you wanted to call. It then rang.
Why did this end? 1). No one wanted to dial 20 digits to make a cell phone call. 2). The FCC felt this amount of dialing was not ‘competitivley neutral.”
The next step was that you entered *18 or *19 from your cell phone when you were in a roaming city, and the cell phone caller paid the LD to deliver the call to the handset. In effect, both parties paid LD to deliver the call to the handset.
With regard to calling party pays, the FCC felt that putting all cell phone users in a specific, identifiable area code (NPA) would be anti-competitive, since landline users would need to dial those calls as 10 digit calls. Calling party pays was also tested and abandoned, since the ‘little old lady in tennis shoes’ wouldn’t know that the number she dialed to get the plumber would result in charges on her bill.
In short, what we have in the US today is the natural evolution of the free market and the FCC’s regulations.
As generous and enlightened a person as John is, the solution is so very simple. Get a personal toll free (800) number for your phone, and the person trying to reach you isn’t inconvenienced a bit.
You give out one simple, easily recognizable number that can be called from anywhere in country code 1, (north america). Problem solved!
You get a non-published toll free, then you control who calls you for free.
http://tnlookup.com is very similar. It is even more current