Hello Dale.

07 May 06 23:13, you wrote to me:

 DS>> The person making the call does not even have any way of knowing
 DS>> that the number is a cell phone.   What happens over there?

 MVDV>> The long standing principle has always been that as it is
 MVDV>> the caller who is in control, it is the caller who should
 MVDV>> pay all cost.

 DS>   I've heard that -- but the thing that wondered me is how I would
 DS> know that a number I am calling is a cell phone.   It seems fair to
 DS> charge caller -- but only if it was an informed choice.

If there is no way for the caller to know in advance if it is a cell phone,
it would be unfair to charge him extra. But over here that is not the case.
Cell phone number are very recognisable.

 MVDV>> I understand that in the US people often switch off their
 MVDV>> cell phones so that they are not charged for incoming
 MVDV>> calls. Over here people normally leave their cell phones on
 MVDV>> all the time.

 DS>   Practice over here varies.  I know people who don't even have a land
 DS>   line phone and use their cell phone for all calls.

We see a growing number of those here too. Mostly young people that haven't
settled yet and move around a lot. People that 10 years ago mostly would
not have had a phone of their own..

 DS>   Others I know leave their phone on most of the time. Others are like
 DS>   me who have a cell phone they leave off and use only for very
 DS>   limited outgoing calls.

So the cell phone company does not make much money on you. The strategy of
having the caller pay seems to work here, as people do not normally switch
off their cell phones and so the phone companies can make money on calls to
them.

 MVDV>> Cell phones have distinctive numbers, so they are easily
 MVDV>> recognised. here (netherlands) they all start with 06.

 DS>   I saw David Drummond say the same thing.   Does the rest of the
 DS> number look like a land line number?

Only in that it is composed of the digits 0-9. There is really little room
for confusion. Also the phone companies offer to have calls to cell phones
(and other expensive numbers such as 0900 numbers and international calls)
blocked, so that your kids or your senile MIL can not accidentally dial
them.

 MVDV>> Contrary to geographical fixed numbers where the area code
 MVDV>> may be omitted when calling from within the same area, the
 MVDV>> cell phone numbers always have to be dialled as the full
 MVDV>> ten digit number. A call to a cell phone number costs five
 MVDV>> to ten times as much as calling a fixed number within the
 MVDV>> country.

 DS>    Are both land line phone numbers (including area code) and cell
 DS> phone numbers both 10 digits long?

Yes. For fixed line the area codes are two or three digits. When dialled
from within the country area codes are always prefixed with a zero, the out
of area access code. The leading zero is often considered to be part of the
area code, but technically this isn't correct. Not that is matters... The
subscriber's number is six or seven digits, depending on the area code. The
total number of digits (including the zero) is always ten. In the past this
was different, but since 1995 it is always ten digits for the full number.
Local numbers can be dialled without the area code and leading zero. Area
codes are non overlapping. No area code starts with 06.

When presented in written form, telephone numbers normally have a dash
between the area code and the subscriber's number. My number would be
written down as 0343-518411. In the past, the dash actually had a function
as there was a second dial tone after the area code and one had to wait for
that before dialling the subscriber's number. That's history, but the dash
remains.

cell phone numbers are ten digit numbers that always start with 06. No
fixed number starts with 06. When written down, cell phone numbers are
written as a 10 digit sequence. My cell phone number is 0651531175.

"Everybody" knows this. In fact the 06 is so ingrained in peoples
perception that many actually use the word "nulzes" (zerosix) as
an equivalent to "cell phone". "Bel me op mijn nulzes"
(Call me on my cell phone). "Wat is je nulzes nummer?" (What is
your cell phone number?).

 DS>    BTW, over here there are places where the entire 10 digit number
 DS> must be dialed and others where you do not need to dial the area code.

Over here it is pretty simple. One can alwasy dial the full ten digit
number. When calling from a fixed line, one can ommit the leding zero and
the area code when dialling within the same area code.

 DS>    It is also true that I cannot tell ahead of time whether or a
 DS> unknown phone number is long distance for me or not.  However, I do
 DS> have to make an overt act to dial a long distance number by adding a 1
 DS> before the area code.  If I attempt to dial a number which is long
 DS> distance to me in my area code I get a message telling me to dial the
 DS> 1 first.  Hence I cannot get charged long distance without being aware
 DS> of it.

Over here we do not really have "long distance". It is such a
small country. There is just two rates: in- or out of area. Out of area is
about twice as expensive as within the area. The cable company I am using
now does not make the distinction in price any more. a local call costs the
same as an out of area call. OTOH they offer a reduced rate to calls to
their own customers. But I can't tell from the number...

 DS>    It sounds as if the "06" is equivalent to the
"1-" in that you know
 DS>    that a phone number requiring 06 is a cell phone and will cost you
 DS>    money.

That's it. The 06 is a big red flag saying this call will be expensive.

 DS>    IMO, neither system is right or wrong -- just different, and folks
 DS>    need to be aware of the differences.

As I wrote in another message, our system seems to work. Between 1995 and
2000 cell phone penetration went from near zero to over 90%. Now it is over
100%. "Everyone" has a cell phone here.

Cheers, Michiel.


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