Path: utzoo!utgpu!watserv1!ria!uwovax.uwo.ca!telecom-request From: aiml@cs.strath.ac.uk (Alan Laird) Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom Subject: Re: Cellular Air Time Charges Around the World - Who Pays? Message-ID: Date: 16 Mar 91 20:10:00 GMT Sender: Telecom@eecs.nwu.edu Organization: Comp. Sci. Dept., Strathclyde Univ., Scotland. Lines: 35 Approved: Telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 11, Issue 211, Message 4 of 9 > Here in Australia the originator of the call pays (but the air time > charges do not add to the cost of all calls - just those over > distances of less than 165km. Over 165km cellular calls and land-line > calls cost the same per minute). > What methods of charging do other countries use for their cellular > systems? In the UK the originator also pays for the call, but the charges are rather unbalanced. Placing a call from a cell phone to any other cell phone or to any fixed phone in the country costs 25p/min peak (33p in greater London) or 10p/min off peak, where off-peak starts at 9.30pm. Making a call from a British Telecom phone to a cell phone will cost 44p/min peak and 33p/min off-peak where off-peak starts at 6.00pm Also BT start charging almost immediately (presumably as soon as they connect to the cellular system) so you get full charges for failed calls (engaged, cell phone unreachable etc). Does anyone know what Mercury charges for calls to cell phones? As regards the recent reports of cellular fraud in the states, I was recently given a credit limit on my cellular account of 100 pounds per month. I wonder if there is any connection between these two. Anyone know what cellular fraud is like in the UK or Europe. In the UK at least, we don't have roaming (both cellular carriers cover the whole country, well a large part of it) so I imagine fraud could be considerably lower. Alan I M Laird, Department of Computer Science, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow G1 1XH, UK. aiml@uk.ac.strath.cs, 041 552 4400 x3081, 0836 320786