Cell #'s not local in home calling area???

[adamlevy]

I'm a little confused about some things I've been reading that seem to indicate that because of recent FCC actions, some cell phone numbers are no longer considered local calls in the owner's home calling area. Is this something I'm going to have to worry about if I go buy a new phone this week or does this only affect some existing customers? I'm a Verizon customer right now and I haven't heard anything about it....but I'm thinking of switching to Sprint and I hear they've been heavily affected.

[ae4ac]

I have been wondering about that myself. In Tennessee it seems that some carriers have large home calling areas and some have very small home areas. Is there any way to know what the home (no long distance from land line) calling area of a carrier is other than calling and asking customer service? That would be an exercise in frustration!

[Daniel885]

Every carrier will be affected, not just Sprint PCS. Here's how it works:

In the past there was something in place called "reverse toll billing" which meant your local telephone company did not charge for a npa/nxx that was long distance normally if it was within an expaned cellular calling area. For example if you have a number of prefixes in a number of small suburbs that are available in some cases calling from suburb to suburb would be a long distance charge. What wirless companies did was to have a deal with local telcos that allowed them to have expanded calling areas by basically paying for the toll charge of the wireline carrier to the wireless phone using just one set of npa/nxx's (prefixes). That practice will soon be eliminated by local telcos and has already for many (like BellSouth). It is a change initiated by the local wireline phone providers not the wireless providers. Outbound calling will still be the same from a wireless to wireline.

The result will be a need for new NPA/NXX's. Meaning each cellular calling area will mirror its wireline calling area for all wireline to wireless calls. This will affect ALL wireless companies. The solution for some may be a need for a number change to a number that will not charge ld for the folks who most often call them.

This affects existing customers and new customers alike. (Unless you get a prefix when you sign up that will be local for your community).

This is caused by an FCC order clearing the way for wireless number portability. This has been one reason the wireless industry has opposed number portability in addition to the high costs associated with it that will keep prices higher for you.

[BillRadio]

Adam,
The short answer is, no you don't need to worry about it. Most carriers are now assigning numbers that are local to where you live or work, and there should be no change necessary. Just make sure that the number assigned to you is indeed local to where you want it, like your home number.

-Bill

[chodges]

ALLTEL stopped reverse toll billing in CenturyTel Columbus, Mississippi, market a couple of weeks ago without notifing customers. After some digging I found this FAQ from ALLTEL about it.

BACKGROUND:

Since toll-free, local calling areas for local telephone customers have typically been smaller than local calling areas for wireless customers, wireless and wireline carriers have often reached agreements to allow wireline customers to make toll-free calls to wireless phones in the corresponding larger wireless local calling area. This is known as reverse toll billing since the wireless carrier instead of the wireline caller absorbed the long distance charges for the calls.

Implementation of the Federal Communications Commission mandate for wireless number portability – which will allow wireless customers to keep their phone numbers even if they switch carriers – this will make reverse toll billing unmanageable. ALLTEL, as well as other carriers, will be phasing out its RTB agreements during 2003.

ALLTEL’S POSITION:
Wireline
ALLTEL’s local telephone business will continue to allow wireless carriers to use reverse toll billing until October 2003, unless those carriers notify ALLTEL to terminate the reverse toll billing agreements earlier.

Wireless
ALLTEL will continue to honor its existing reverse toll billing agreements with local telephone carriers until notified by the carriers that they will be ending RTB.

Q&A:

Q: What is reverse toll billing?
A: Reverse toll billing is a voluntary billing arrangement between wireline and wireless carriers. With reverse toll billing, a local telephone company allows its customers to call wireless numbers toll-free to areas which are normally long distance. The cost for these calls is traditionally absorbed by the wireless carrier instead of the local telephone company’s customer.

Q: What is changing?
A: As part of the wireless number portability mandate from the FCC, carriers are to begin phasing out reverse toll billing. With the changes to the numbering system required for WNP, reverse toll billing will become unmanageable.

Q: What will happen when these agreements are ended?
A: Following termination of reverse toll billing, some calls from wireline phones to wireless phones may require 1+ dialing and be subject to toll charges that were previously toll-free local calls.

Q: How will a local telephone customer know if he or she will be subject to toll charges for a call to a wireless phone?
A: The call will not be completed and an automated message will tell the caller that 1+ dialing will be needed to complete the call.

Q: Will this affect wireless charges?
A: No. Reverse toll billing only affect calls from wireline phones to wireless phones.

Q: How will wireless customers be made aware of this situation?
A: At the appropriate time, ALLTEL will notify affected wireless customers with a bill insert.

Q: Why would a wireless customer want to change his or her phone number?
A: If that wireless customer receives a lot of phone calls from a wireline telephone and those calls would now be considered long-distance for the wireline caller, a wireless customer may want to consider changing his or her phone number to match the local calling area for those telephone calls so they will continue to be toll-free calling for the wireline caller.

Q: Will ALLTEL make new numbers available for wireless customers?
A: In most areas, yes. ALLTEL plans to obtain new numbers for those areas that will be affected by this change. [I’m not sure that we are securing nxxs in all areas. Cherly Gordon should be consulted.]

Q: Do wireless customers have to change their phone number?
A: No. Customers will not be required to change their telephone number.

Q: What are the factors customers should consider before choosing whether or not to change their number?
A: Customers should analyze the frequency, duration and cost of the toll calls to the local telephone caller as well as the number of wireline callers calling their wireless phone that are affected by toll.

Q: What does a wireless customer need to do if they choose to change their number?
A: Customers can visit any ALLTEL retail store and get a phone number changed.

Q: Is there a cost to change a wireless phone number?
A: No.

[Daniel885]

That is not the result of ALLTEL but of the wireline carrier in those areas. BellSouth in the Carolinas has ended any reverse toll billing agreements. ALLTEL Wireless is committed to continuing any reverse toll billing agreements until all deadlines have come later this year or until their previously agreed to experations. BellSouth has chosen not to continue any reverse toll billing agreements any longer.

BellSouth is using this to their advantage selling its long distance service with the additional pitch that they will continue to absorb the cost of wireline to wireless calls in former expanded cellular calling areas.

BellSouth was not expected to end the reverse toll billing this soon; nor were other wireline carriers, including other Bells. Most CLECs and rural ILEC providers in this area have not followed Bell's lead yet. At this time ALLTEL is working to add more NPA/NXX's in affected areas here in coastal South Carolina.

[Computerteacher]

[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]Here in South Florida the cell companies assign you numbers based on your home numbers local calling area! In South Florida most of the local calling areas are county wide dialing so that solves the problem unless you want another county's number, which is a toll
Being an old BellSouth Supervisior they will try anything to get a toll out of you! Folks need to be careful when requesting numbers and requesting numbers that are local to their home numbers.

Another trick they are doing now is for example you request a Fort Lauderdale number and it is tagged as a Fort Lauderdale npa/nnx number but really works out of the Miami Switch thus the time may come where they will take that nnx and rename it to is real home thus creating toll charges! That will cause a real uproar here I am sure!

I do not trust nor like BellSouth and fell the same way about Cingular as they are the old BEllSouth Mobility! What a crooked company and a bunch of bastards to work for!!!