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Likely because it's significantly more expensive to call a UK mobile than a US one. I believe that they announced free calls until the end of the year. Maybe th

by detst 16y ago

Likely because it's significantly more expensive to call a UK mobile than a US one. I believe that they announced free calls until the end of the year. Maybe they'll roll it out in the UK at that point but expect to pay for it.

weavejester 16y ago
How much does it cost to call a cell phone in the US?
- bigwally 16y ago
  Cell phones are treated the same way as landlines in the US (in terms of charging).
  - beagle3 16y ago
    ... and the recipient also pays for "received airtime". Whereas, in most of the world outside the US, mobile phones get a different area code, and it is the caller that pays for "airtime".
    - yardie 16y ago
      To be fair, its not that bad. When I lived in the states unlimited nights and weekends started at 7PM and lasted 8AM. I also had Sprint SERO which was completely unlimited at $99/mo. + $25 in taxes. When I moved to France, unlimited and unrestricted calling plans didn't exist yet and the talking time was pretty measly. Even now their nights and weekend billings were awkward 8PM-Midnight, Saturday afternoons - Sunday Midnight. They gave you a feature that was practically worthless. This explains why SMS took so long to get off the ground there. A message cost $0.15, which is about the cost of a voice call, and unlimited messaging plans were $15-20 in addition to your voice plan. That money could be better spent on an even bigger plan with 1000 minutes. That and T9 sucked as a keyboard interface. Eventually, I hope the rest of the world gets real
- detst 16y ago
  For comparison: Twilio: $0.02/min to all US and $0.03 to UK landlines or $0.32 to UK mobiles -- yes, 16x the US rate. Voxeo: $0.02/min to all US and UK landlines or between $0.14 and $0.35 for mobiles. Google wouldn't use Twilio or Voxeo for this kind of service so it gets cheaper elsewhere -- especially on their scale -- but it shows the relative difference.
  - oomkiller 16y ago
    UK rates really are a crapshoot. Voxeo and Twilio must just be averaging the rates for mobiles. The rates I get at Flowroute for UK mobiles vary wildly: https://www.flowroute.com/services/rates/U/ https://www.flowroute.com/services/rates/U/

by detst 16y ago

weavejester 16y ago

How much does it cost to call a cell phone in the US?

bigwally 16y ago
Cell phones are treated the same way as landlines in the US (in terms of charging).
- beagle3 16y ago
  ... and the recipient also pays for "received airtime". Whereas, in most of the world outside the US, mobile phones get a different area code, and it is the caller that pays for "airtime".
  - yardie 16y ago
    To be fair, its not that bad. When I lived in the states unlimited nights and weekends started at 7PM and lasted 8AM. I also had Sprint SERO which was completely unlimited at $99/mo. + $25 in taxes. When I moved to France, unlimited and unrestricted calling plans didn't exist yet and the talking time was pretty measly. Even now their nights and weekend billings were awkward 8PM-Midnight, Saturday afternoons - Sunday Midnight. They gave you a feature that was practically worthless. This explains why SMS took so long to get off the ground there. A message cost $0.15, which is about the cost of a voice call, and unlimited messaging plans were $15-20 in addition to your voice plan. That money could be better spent on an even bigger plan with 1000 minutes. That and T9 sucked as a keyboard interface. Eventually, I hope the rest of the world gets real
detst 16y ago
For comparison: Twilio: $0.02/min to all US and $0.03 to UK landlines or $0.32 to UK mobiles -- yes, 16x the US rate. Voxeo: $0.02/min to all US and UK landlines or between $0.14 and $0.35 for mobiles. Google wouldn't use Twilio or Voxeo for this kind of service so it gets cheaper elsewhere -- especially on their scale -- but it shows the relative difference.
- oomkiller 16y ago
  UK rates really are a crapshoot. Voxeo and Twilio must just be averaging the rates for mobiles. The rates I get at Flowroute for UK mobiles vary wildly: https://www.flowroute.com/services/rates/U/ https://www.flowroute.com/services/rates/U/