Calls to cell phone charges?

Posts: 1 · New Forum Member Joined: Jul 30, 2009 Posts: 1

Ok, I just want to clarify this before I decide to subscribe. Are calls to cell phones(US cell phones) included in the unlimited calling on the residential plan? I heard from someone here in my area that they were charged for outgoing calls to US based cell phones. Cannot find the answer on Vonage website.

Thanks Rich

Posts: 656 · Posted: Thu Jul 30, 2009 5:50 am Post subject:

Any call made to phone in the US, landline or mobile number is FREE under the Unlimited plan. Mobile numbers are only charged differently in international countries because over there, they are considered a premium service number.

If someone told you they were charged for a call to a US cell phone number, they were either on the 500 minute plan and went over their 500 minutes, was not using or making calls from Vonage, just was unclear on something, may have had some sort of billing error, or called a Satellite phone(not a cell phone). Satellite phones are non geographical and are expensive to call per minute.

Posts: 17 · Vonage Forum Associate Joined: Jan 21, 2006 Posts: 17

Calls to satellite phones are considered non-geographical, and therefore expensive to call per minute? What are you basing this information from?

Posts: 1327 · Vonage Forum **MVM** Joined: Nov 08, 2006 Posts: 1327

look up the rates for sat phones also known as Emersat about $15 a minute!

Posts: 656 · Posted: Sat Aug 01, 2009 8:32 am Post subject:

It is based upon my own knowledge but if you have doubts, here is definitive info.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satellite_phone

"while calling them from landlines and regular mobile phones is extremely expensive. Rates from landlines and mobile phones range from $3 to $14 per minute with Iridium and INMARSAT being some of the most expensive networks to call."

Posts: 56 · Full Forum Member Joined: Nov 27, 2006 Posts: 56

But don't Satellite phones have specific country codes? Therefore they can't be dialed by 1+ area code, and hence not covered under the unlimited plan.

Back to OPs question, in the US, the cell phone holder pays for both outbound and inbound calls. In other countries, the cell holder pays only for outbound calls, therefore inbound calls carry a premium.

That's why when a US caller calls a cell phone in one of those countries, the international rates are much higher than that of a landline number.

My .02...

Posts: 656 · Posted: Fri Aug 07, 2009 5:36 am Post subject:

You are correct. To dial a Sat phone from the US, it would be 011 + 3 digit Sat code + 9 digit Sat number.