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Roaming
Your rate plan defines an area called your home area, which, depending
on your plan, can be a city, a geographic region, a multistate area, or
the whole country. If you use your phone outside this home area, you are
said to be roaming. All phones have some visual display to let
you know that you're no longer in your home area.
When you roam, airtime rates are typically much higher than your plan
rate, and you may even be getting your service from a different carrier.
In addition to your roaming rate, long-distance charges and--in some cases--further
usage fees may apply as well.
Fortunately, all carriers have created rate plans that offer large home
areas, sometimes as large as the whole country. These rate plans, such
as AT&T's One Rate, VoiceStream's North American Neighborhood, and
Sprint PCS's Free and Clear plans, can make roaming a nonissue. These
plans may include long distance as well, and while they are initially
more costly than local usage plans, you won't end up paying a lot in roaming
fees and roaming long-distance charges. If you travel frequently, you
should certainly consider these options.
It's worth noting that some carriers do not have coverage everywhere
in the nation. If your phone picks up another carrier's signal, you may
still accrue roaming fees even if you are technically on your carrier's
national plan. In these cases, individual carriers may apply charges in
a variety of ways: they may have a standardized "off-network"
rate, or they may convert the charges and subtract minutes from your national
plan. Or, you may be charged the roaming rate offered by the carrier providing
service where your calls were made or received. Check your rate plan information
carefully to define what charges you can expect.
Understand how long-distance and roaming charges work
Yes, the rules that govern long-distance and roaming charges can be confusing.
Fortunately, you can sidestep the whole issue with a rate plan that includes
free or fixed-rate long distance. If you travel a lot or make a lot of
long-distance calls, you should definitely consider this option (see individual
plan reviews for details).
If you go with a regional or local plan that does not include standardized
long distance, you need to understand how you'll be billed. This means
reading the plan's terms and conditions carefully.
Long-Distance Charges
The basic issue is that if you make a long-distance call, and your plan
does not include free long distance, you'll incur long-distance charges.
The long-distance rate may depend on your carrier, your rate plan, where
you are when you place the call, and where you're calling. Note that these
charges do not include additional airtime costs. You will still be using
your quota of monthly minutes, or paying per-minute airtime costs in addition
to long-distance charges. This is also generally true for plans that provide
for a consistent per-minute long-distance charge.
Are you calling long distance from your home area? If so, your rate plan
will define a long-distance rate. If you are calling from outside your
home area, (i.e. roaming), your long-distance rates may vary depending
on whose cellular system you are on at that moment, what long-distance
carrier it uses, and any agreements it may have with your carrier. If
this sounds complex, you're right. So, if you are going to make a lot
of long-distance calls from outside the home area, it's well worth getting
on a plan that includes long distance, or at least a guaranteed fixed
long-distance rate.
If you are outside your local calling area and receive a call, you will
pay long-distance charges to carry the call from the home area to your
location. For example, if you are a Seattle customer traveling in Denver,
and a friend calls your Seattle cell number, you will pay the long-distance
rate to carry the call from Seattle to Denver.
Can you choose your own long-distance carrier? Generally not, as carriers
tend to have prearrangements for distance service. If, for example, if
you have service with AT&T Wireless, you're long-distance carrier
will be AT&T. Finally, if you're confused by any long-distance charges
on your bill, you should contact your carrier's customer service for an
explanation.
Roaming
Your rate plan defines an area called your home area, which, depending
on your plan, can be a city, a geographic region, a multistate area, or
the whole country. If you use your phone outside this home area, you are
said to be roaming. All phones have some visual display to let you know
that you're no longer in your home area.
When you roam, airtime rates are typically much higher than your plan
rate, and you may even be getting your service from a different carrier.
In addition to your roaming rate, long-distance charges and--in some cases--further
usage fees may apply as well.
Fortunately, all carriers have created rate plans that offer large home
areas, sometimes as large as the whole country. These rate plans, such
as AT&T's One Rate, VoiceStream's North American Neighborhood, and
Sprint PCS's Free and Clear plans, can make roaming a nonissue. These
plans may include long distance as well, and while they are initially
more costly than local usage plans, you won't end up paying a lot in roaming
fees and roaming long-distance charges. If you travel frequently, you
should certainly consider these options.
It's worth noting that some carriers do not have coverage everywhere
in the nation. If your phone picks up another carrier's signal, you may
still accrue roaming fees even if you are technically on your carrier's
national plan. In these cases, individual carriers may apply charges in
a variety of ways: they may have a standardized "off-network"
rate, or they may convert the charges and subtract minutes from your national
plan. Or, you may be charged the roaming rate offered by the carrier providing
service where your calls were made or received. Check your rate plan information
carefully to define what charges you can expect.
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