March 07, 2006

Curious George: Cell long distance (U.S.) Just a dumb question but do most people signed up with major cell providers in the U.S. get free long distance? I'm setting up a temporary number for cell phone clients and am not sure if a 1-800 number would be redundant.
posted by rolypolyman 18 years ago
  • It would depend on the clients you have. If the clients are the "buy it prepaid because they don't have credit", you probably want the 800#...but, if the clients are somewhat upscale, they probably have free long distance... so...the answer lies in the definition of "most people"...
  • Err on the side of too-much access.
  • The 800 number is handy for when your cell phone customer can't get on the network and has to use a payphone.
  • I have a prepaid phone and long distance is not an extra charge. You use the same number of minutes no matter where you're calling. I believe most prepaid phones are the same.
  • ouch...after reading Lara's comment, I felt a need to apologize for a poorly worded comment. I'm used to the teens I work with having prepaid phones, because they are too young to get credit and get a regular cell account... no offense to anyone who chooses that route... No implications of second hand citizenship or anything like that.... /removes foot from mouth... ugh
  • I'm pretty darn positive that every cell phone has free long distance. You get cell phone plans from long distance providers, not you're local phone company. Every call made from a cell phone is, in essence, a long distance call. It's being routed through your long distance provider, as if it was long distance. Actually, "routed" isn't the right word, since the phone is bound to that provider. From a cell phone's perspective, every call made is long distance, regardless of the recipient's physical location. They could, I suppose, have a setup that charges for "long distance", but I doubt it. It just doesn't make sense.
  • For the record, I wasn't offended, HB. Lots of people I know have prepaid for lots of reasons. I think for most of us it's the fact that we don't really use them all that much, so it works out cheaper in the long run.