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>And I find it odd when people call me on WhatsApp. Given that you're European, do you not have any friends/family outside your country, in neighboring EU coun

>And I find it odd when people call me on WhatsApp. Given that you're European, do you not have any friends/family outside your country, in neighboring EU countries? Wouldn't they have to pay high per-minute rates to call you?

arkh 2y ago
https://mobile.free.fr/fiche-forfait-free https://mobile.free.fr/fiche-forfait-free Example from one provider: nope with 100 countries. Including the US, Canada, China etc.
- shiroiushi 2y ago
  Looks expensive. What about the regular phone plans? For instance, the plan I use currently in Japan has high per-minute or per-SMS charges for international numbers. The trade-off, of course, is that it's dirt cheap as long as you don't call international numbers, and basically just use it for mobile data. In a place where everyone uses LINE for communication, this works well.
- usr1106 2y ago
  In Finland I see the opposite problem. Traditional calling is dead, so there is absolutely no competition on international calls. National calls and calls to nordic and Baltic countries are typically included in the subscription. But once you have to call to let's say central Europe per minute rates are exorbitant compared to today's data volume pricing.
bad_user 2y ago
Inside the EU / EES we usually have minutes included. Right now my plan, with Orange, costs 7.5 EUR / month with unlimited 5G (for real), 16 GB of data when roaming, unlimited minutes when roaming in EU/EES, and 600 international minutes in EU/EES. We do have great deals here, BTW, I'm sure it's more expensive in other EU countries. I'd have to upgrade for another 100 minutes with US / Canada, however, I have another plan from Digi that charges per minute but that's dirt cheap. I do have acquaintances from US with which I communicate primarily via WhatsApp, but I don't need it for my family within EU.
- ktosobcy 2y ago
  > Inside the EU / EES we usually have minutes included. Nowadays... but not so long ago it wasn't like that and the prices were abysmal. And considering that EU is somewhat smaller and there is higher chance of having international contacts make the IMs so popular (especially whatsapp)...
  - bad_user 2y ago
    You're right about prices being higher not long ago. > EU is somewhat smaller By area? The EU's population is larger than that of the US. WhatsApp is indeed very popular for IM, and nowadays, SMS is basically just for 2FA (I hoped RCS would change that, but it's too little too late unfortunately).
    - ktosobcy 2y ago
      > By area? The EU's population is larger than that of the US. Yes, by area, which second part of the sentence implied when I mentioned it's easier to end-up in different country without driving miles on end :)

arkh 2y ago

https://mobile.free.fr/fiche-forfait-free https://mobile.free.fr/fiche-forfait-free Example from one provider: nope with 100 countries. Including the US, Canada, China etc.

shiroiushi 2y ago
Looks expensive. What about the regular phone plans? For instance, the plan I use currently in Japan has high per-minute or per-SMS charges for international numbers. The trade-off, of course, is that it's dirt cheap as long as you don't call international numbers, and basically just use it for mobile data. In a place where everyone uses LINE for communication, this works well.
usr1106 2y ago
In Finland I see the opposite problem. Traditional calling is dead, so there is absolutely no competition on international calls. National calls and calls to nordic and Baltic countries are typically included in the subscription. But once you have to call to let's say central Europe per minute rates are exorbitant compared to today's data volume pricing.

bad_user 2y ago

Inside the EU / EES we usually have minutes included. Right now my plan, with Orange, costs 7.5 EUR / month with unlimited 5G (for real), 16 GB of data when roaming, unlimited minutes when roaming in EU/EES, and 600 international minutes in EU/EES. We do have great deals here, BTW, I'm sure it's more expensive in other EU countries. I'd have to upgrade for another 100 minutes with US / Canada, however, I have another plan from Digi that charges per minute but that's dirt cheap. I do have acquaintances from US with which I communicate primarily via WhatsApp, but I don't need it for my family within EU.

ktosobcy 2y ago
> Inside the EU / EES we usually have minutes included. Nowadays... but not so long ago it wasn't like that and the prices were abysmal. And considering that EU is somewhat smaller and there is higher chance of having international contacts make the IMs so popular (especially whatsapp)...
- bad_user 2y ago
  You're right about prices being higher not long ago. > EU is somewhat smaller By area? The EU's population is larger than that of the US. WhatsApp is indeed very popular for IM, and nowadays, SMS is basically just for 2FA (I hoped RCS would change that, but it's too little too late unfortunately).
  - ktosobcy 2y ago
    > By area? The EU's population is larger than that of the US. Yes, by area, which second part of the sentence implied when I mentioned it's easier to end-up in different country without driving miles on end :)