GSM Services - Voice Calls - Voice Charges

Voice Charges

In the United States and Canada, callers pay the cost of connecting to the Gateway MSC of the subscriber's phone company, regardless of the actual location of the phone. As mobile numbers are given standard geographic numbers according to the North American Numbering Plan, callers pay the same to reach fixed phones and mobile phones in a given geographic area. Mobile subscribers pay for the connection time (typically using in-plan or prepaid minutes) for both incoming and outgoing calls. For outgoing calls, any long distance charges are billed as if they originate at the GMSC, even though it is the visiting MSC that completes the connection to the PSTN. Plans that include nationwide long distance and/or nationwide roaming at no additional charge over "local" outgoing calls are popular.

Mobile networks in Europe, Asia (except Hong Kong, Macau (Macao) and Singapore), Australia & Argentina only charge their subscribers for outgoing calls. Incoming calls are free to the mobile subscriber with the exception of receiving a call while the subscriber is roaming as described below. However, callers typically pay a higher rate when calling mobile phones. Special prefixes are used to designate mobile numbers so that callers are aware they are calling a mobile phone and therefore will be charged a higher rate.

From the caller's point of view, it does not matter where the mobile subscriber is, as the technical process of connecting the call is the same. If a subscriber is roaming on a different company's network, the subscriber, instead of the caller, may pay a surcharge for the connection time. International roaming calls are often quite expensive, and as a result some companies require subscribers to grant explicit permission to receive calls while roaming to certain countries.

When a subscriber is roaming internationally and a call is forwarded to his or her voice mail, such as when his or her phone is off, busy, or not answered, he or she may actually be charged for two simultaneous international phone calls—the first to get from the GMSC to the VMSC and the second to get from the VMSC to the Call Forward Busy or Call Forward No Reply number (typically the voice mailbox) in the subscriber's country. However, some networks' GMSCs connect unanswered calls directly, keeping the voice signal entirely within the home country and thus avoiding the double charge.