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Being told local numbers are long distance?

seanneyb
Good Citizen / Bon Citoyen

Hi all,

I just signed up for Public Mobile last week, and my wife joined a couple days ago.  Everything was smooth (except for Bell cutting off her service mid-call while she was trying to get her phone unlocked by them...) and straight-forward.  We both have unlimited Canadian calling.

 

However, today, I tried calling a local Vancouver number, and I got a recorded message saying the number I was calling was long distance (it's definitely not).  I tried again and got the same message, then tried manually dialing it without the "1" at the beginning, and the call went through.  A couple hours later, I called my wife and got the same message - that I was calling a long-distane number and my plan didn't have long distance.  I got that same message two more times until the call went through.

 

Any ideas? Has this happened to anyone else? Or is there something I need to fix?

20 REPLIES 20

@stonechucker 

I think you misread that based on response

 

ALL new area codes are overlays today

The days of an area code being bound by geographical restrictions are long gone (nearly 10 years ago)

 

Too many "Toronto problems" when the 416 split to 416/905 as people were FORCED to change thier landline numbers

 

519 (like 416) is an original code but 226 is an overlay

 

 

 

 

chukdefatey
Deputy Mayor / Adjoint au Maire

To the original Poster, you should always save north American phones numbers with +1 followed by the ten digit number. Example +1-234-567-7890. 

@kav2001c,

 

LCA doesn't apply to the entire area code.  Toronto is an exception.  Calgary shares I think the 403 area code with a lot of Alberta, HOWEVER a Lehridge call in the same area code is not local for Calgary.

 

This is no different from my previous post with 519 and 226 in Southern Ontario.  The geographic distance is why the call is determined long-distance on landlines.  On mobile in the geographic area of what *could be* a long-distance call, it should complete as a local call. Conversely, a landline call or a mobile call to a geographic long-distance call will not complete as 'local' which is why the message comes up, and the call completes afterwards. 

 

I don't make the calls on this... I'm just a guy who has to deal with 'LD calls not included' in your plan (I'm still Province Wide).  I call Waterloo, Cambridge, London, Windsor or Hamilton or Toronto, or Sudbury, they all tell me that message.

 

THis is my 3+ years of experience here at Public Mobile.

 


@kav2001c wrote:

@stonechucker  ?

 

778 covers the entire province of BC

LCA rules still apply though

 


@stonechucker wrote:

That 778 number *maynot* based in that geographic location.  It could be based in another part of the area code that is a long distance call from where you were standing.


 


 

@jor123  There are people that choose to keep their grandfathered in plans that have province wide calling in exchange usually for 4G data and/or 90 day plans. 

jor123
Town Hero / Héro de la Ville

Are there even plans now that aren't Canada wide? 

@stonechucker  ?

 

778 covers the entire province of BC

LCA rules still apply though

 


@stonechucker wrote:

That 778 number *maynot* based in that geographic location.  It could be based in another part of the area code that is a long distance call from where you were standing.


 

seanneyb
Good Citizen / Bon Citoyen

I'm writing a response in here in hopes that it will help someone else if they experience the same problem:

 

The problem hasn't reoccured since that one day.  It's been more than a week now and I've called the same numbers that I was getting the long distance message about before - and have not heard the message since.  Perhaps it was some sort of glitch.

 

Anyway.  Problem solved, or at least, stopped.

88cranston
Model Citizen / Citoyen Modèle

@stonechucker wrote:

That 778 number *maynot* based in that geographic location.  It could be based in another part of the area code that is a long distance call from where you were standing.


Right. We all “may” think 778 is in the lower mainland only, but it is not.  So let’s say the 778 number was for Kelowna. The person owning that 778 number is in Vancouver. And the caller also has a Vancouver number. That would still be a long distance call to the Kelowna 778 number. So you get the LD message, redial the number and start with 1 xxx xxx xxxx, at no cost to PM user. 

 

For some unknown reason even my brother from Prince George that moved to Victoria retained his Prince George number. Very odd to deal with some one in your new local area, by calling your neighbor LD. 

That 778 number *maynot* based in that geographic location.  It could be based in another part of the area code that is a long distance call from where you were standing.

seanneyb
Good Citizen / Bon Citoyen

@kav2001c wrote:

 

Even if the number you dial is a local call, it will still be a long distance call when you are on a different tower that is not local to your home zone. (You can actaully check your detailed call history to see where system registered you but chances are you were not in Vancouver proper when call was placed).

 

Either way just ignore it.

 

I was in the middle of downtown Vancouver, calling a 778 cell phone two blocks away from me.

seanneyb
Good Citizen / Bon Citoyen

@GinYVR wrote:

@seanneybWhat phone do you have? It sounds like a phone software misconfiguration rather than a network issue. Best to visit the phone's support forum to seek answer (especially if it is an android phone).


It's an iphone 8.  I haven't consciously changed any existing settings on it.

seanneyb
Good Citizen / Bon Citoyen

@cellphoneuser1 wrote:

@seanneyb Could the number being called not be Vancouver? There are 604 numbers that aren't local from Vancouver.


Like...I guess? I called a business located just off Main and 1st in Vancouver that's been there for ages (it's a 604 number), and the first couple times I got the long distance message, but it went through.

 

The same thing with my wife's number, which is a 778 number originally given to her 10 years ago from a Bell store in downtown Vancouver.  I'd called her earlier in the day from my home (closer to Burnaby) without problems, but when I called her while I was in downtown Vancouver - and she was two blocks away - I couldn't get through because of the message saying the number I was calling was long distance and I didn't have a plan with long distance calling on it.  I didn't wait to the end of the message, so I don't know if the call would have eventually gone through or not; if this happens again I'll wait to see if the call will connect after the message.


@88cranston wrote:

Why would that happen if minutes are CANADA WIDE.?


It's still long distance to call out of local area. It doesn't cost extra.

88cranston
Model Citizen / Citoyen Modèle

Why would that happen if minutes are CANADA WIDE.?

cellphoneuser1
Mayor / Maire

@seanneyb Could the number being called not be Vancouver? There are 604 numbers that aren't local from Vancouver.

@seanneybWhat phone do you have? It sounds like a phone software misconfiguration rather than a network issue. Best to visit the phone's support forum to seek answer (especially if it is an android phone).

seanneyb
Good Citizen / Bon Citoyen

Well, I was in the middle of downtown Vancouver, calling my wife who was a block away from me. So I was definitely in the city!

 

I'll continue to ignore it; like I said, all the calls I made were to local numbers in Vancouver, but I didn't know that the call would complete after the message. It would be nice to not have to go through and edit a couple hundred numbers.

kav2001c
Mayor / Maire

Its not really going to effect you if you have Canada wide calling, but to determine if a number is long distance the system is looking at where you are and what number you are calling.

 

Even if the number you dial is a local call, it will still be a long distance call when you are on a different tower that is not local to your home zone. (You can actaully check your detailed call history to see where system registered you but chances are you were not in Vancouver proper when call was placed).

 

Either way just ignore it.

 


@seanneyb wrote:

Hi all,

I just signed up for Public Mobile last week, and my wife joined a couple days ago.  Everything was smooth (except for Bell cutting off her service mid-call while she was trying to get her phone unlocked by them...) and straight-forward.  We both have unlimited Canadian calling.

 

However, today, I tried calling a local Vancouver number, and I got a recorded message saying the number I was calling was long distance (it's definitely not).  I tried again and got the same message, then tried manually dialing it without the "1" at the beginning, and the call went through.  A couple hours later, I called my wife and got the same message - that I was calling a long-distane number and my plan didn't have long distance.  I got that same message two more times until the call went through.

 

Any ideas? Has this happened to anyone else? Or is there something I need to fix?


 

A misdial can make this happen, as can calling a number not within your local callling area, which is old landline lingo for a local call.

 

I use Cambridge ON as an example all the time, as it was originally (and still is) dévider calling centres for Galt, Preston and Hespeler (3 smaller towns merged in 1974).  Galt can call local to St. George, but not to Guelph, Hespeler can call Guelph but not Kitchener-Waterloo, and Preston can call KW, but not St George.

 

A physical long distance call requires the leading 1 or +1 to dial without the message.  You could put all numbers in your contact list as +1, and all calls will complete just fine, within Canada.

darlicious
Mayor / Maire

@seanneyb  This is a default message from when there was (and grandfathered in) provincial calling plans. Just ignore the message. Or reprogram your contacts with or without a (1) in front. It occasionally happens to me. It will probably go away. The number will ring through after the message regardless.

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