Is my out-of-province number long distance when I call in-province

[Yeldarb]

Hi,

I would like to sign up for Public Mobile in BC, but use my old Alberta number.

If I do that, will I be charged long-distance when I call anyone locally in BC?

This is from the $25 unlimited talk/text small print:

"Includes outgoing calls you make anywhere in Canada to a number with an area code in the same province, and incoming calls you receive from anywhere in the world. A long distance talk add-on is required to place calls to numbers with area codes outside of your home province."

So I guess my question is whether my "home province" can be BC even though my number is an Alberta number.

Thanks,

Y

[stonechucker]

I understand the desire of everyone keeping costs down, but personally, if I'm located in an area where a local incoming call has to pay LD charges to reach me, chances are they won't bother contacting me.

An employer, local shops, friends and social circle - if you make it cost them, they may choose to decline.

[Anonymous]

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@ute1978 wrote:

One good thing comes out of this.

Having an Albertan phone number you will only pay 5% taxes on the bills instead of 12%. 😉

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🙂 But then Albertans can't enjoy the convenience and slight savings buying from recharge.com.

[ute1978]

One good thing comes out of this.

Having an Albertan phone number you will only pay 5% taxes on the bills instead of 12%. 😉

[6500K]

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@computergeek541 wrote:

In some ways, I wish that the FAQs and such from the official Public Mobile sources would  stop saying anything about a "home" province.

As we know, Public Mobile has never enforced the fact that receiving a call while you're outside of the province that your phone number belongs to is supposed to be a Canada-wide long distance call, and is supposed to require that you either pay for long distance per minute (not applicable to Public Mobile because no overage charges), have a Canada-wide long distance add-on,  or have a Canada-wide calling plan.  That type of call being charged as long distance would be consistent with all other carriers, but since Public Mobile doesn't place that restriction on customers, the "home province" expression really has no meaning when it comes to incoming calls.

Now, when it comes to outgoing calls, once again, "home province" doesn't really mean anything.  It has never mattered (with any carrier) which city or proivince your phone number is from.  It only matters where you are and where you're calling.

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@computergeek541that was an exceptionally clear explanation of incoming and outgoing calls.  I wish I could give you two Bravos!

[computergeek541]

In some ways, I wish that the FAQs and such from the official Public Mobile sources would  stop saying anything about a "home" province.

As we know, Public Mobile has never enforced the fact that receiving a call while you're outside of the province that your phone number belongs to is supposed to be a Canada-wide long distance call, and is supposed to require that you either pay for long distance per minute (not applicable to Public Mobile because no overage charges), have a Canada-wide long distance add-on,  or have a Canada-wide calling plan.  That type of call being charged as long distance would be consistent with all other carriers, but since Public Mobile doesn't place that restriction on customers, the "home province" expression really has no meaning when it comes to incoming calls.

Now, when it comes to outgoing calls, once again, "home province" doesn't really mean anything.  It has never mattered (with any carrier) which city or proivince your phone number is from.  It only matters where you are and where you're calling.

[srlawren]

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@ShawnC13 wrote:

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I think the statement was changed @srlawren, that you can receive calls from anywhere while you are located in Canada and will not need a LD addon.  I have personally been able to receive calls from BC while in Ont and it has not affected my LD addon

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@ShawnC13 thanks for the clarification!

[ShawnC13 · Accepted solution]

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@Yeldarb wrote:

Thanks @ShawnC13 and @ShawnC13.

But I am a bit confused now.

I would rather keep costs as low as possible, so saving the $5 is my preference. But I need to know whether I can receive calls on my Alberta number while I'm located in BC without needing an LD addon. 

But do we agree that I can call BC numbers, while I'm in BC, from my Alberta number without incurring LD charges?

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 Yes you can receive calls on your Alberta number while you are in BC without a long distance plan.

Yes you can call BC numbers, while in BC using your Alberta number without incurring LD charges.  For this you just need to add 1 in front of the number when you dial.  Don't worry you won't get charged against your LD addon if you purchase one.

[Yeldarb]

Thanks @ShawnC13 and @ShawnC13.

But I am a bit confused now.

I would rather keep costs as low as possible, so saving the $5 is my preference.

So I need to know whether I can receive calls on my Alberta number while I'm located in BC without needing an LD addon. 

But do we agree that I can call BC numbers, while I'm in BC, from my Alberta number without incurring LD charges?

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[ShawnC13]

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@srlawren wrote:

@ShawnC13 that's a confusing explanation--your "home" province doesn't change by what province you'r currently in.

@Yeldarb your "home" province is the one associated to your area code--in your case it would be Alberta.  If you're physically located in BC, you can make calls to BC numbers using your province-wide calling.  Calls to Alberta numbers would be long distance and you would need a long distance add-on to be able to do so.  However, because you (in BC) are outside of your home province (AB), *officially* you would also need long distance add-on minutes for every incoming call.  That said, some people seem to be able to receive incoming calls with a province-wide talk and no add-on minutes consumed while they are outside of their home province, but I wouldn't count on this--assume you will need long distance add-on minutes to cover those calls as well.

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I think the statement was changed @srlawren, that you can receive calls from anywhere while you are located in Canada and will not need a LD addon.  I have personally been able to receive calls from BC while in Ont and it has not affected my LD addon

[srlawren]

@ShawnC13 that's a confusing explanation--your "home" province doesn't change by what province you'r currently in.

@Yeldarb your "home" province is the one associated to your area code--in your case it would be Alberta.  If you're physically located in BC, you can make calls to BC numbers using your province-wide calling.  Calls to Alberta numbers would be long distance and you would need a long distance add-on to be able to do so.  However, because you (in BC) are outside of your home province (AB), *officially* you would also need long distance add-on minutes for every incoming call.  That said, some people seem to be able to receive incoming calls with a province-wide talk and no add-on minutes consumed while they are outside of their home province, but I wouldn't count on this--assume you will need long distance add-on minutes to cover those calls as well.

EDIT: actually, what I might suggest for you is to pay an extra $5.  For $30 every 30 days, you can keep the unlimtied texting, upgrade your unlimited calling (without any add-on minutes) to Canada-wide such that none of the province-wide calling complexities matter, and also as a bonus add 500MB of ["3G"-speed] data.  You may or may not care about the data, but because of the way the plans are structured, as long as you have any amount of "3G" plan data (500MB being the smallest), your plan can get upgraded to Canada-wide calling for no extra cost over province-wide calling.  So you effectively pay $5 for the data and get the upgraded calling for free; or if you prefer to look at it the other way, you pay $5 for the upgraded calling and get a small amount of data for no extra cost.

[ShawnC13]

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@Yeldarb wrote:

Hi,

I would like to sign up for Public Mobile in BC, but use my old Alberta number.

If I do that, will I be charged long-distance when I call anyone locally in BC?

This is from the $25 unlimited talk/text small print:

"Includes outgoing calls you make anywhere in Canada to a number with an area code in the same province, and incoming calls you receive from anywhere in the world. A long distance talk add-on is required to place calls to numbers with area codes outside of your home province."

So I guess my question is whether my "home province" can be BC even though my number is an Alberta number.

Thanks,

Y

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Whatever Province you are in becomes your "home" Province even while travelling.  You can have your Alberta number and while in BC call BC numbers without a Long distance addon.  You will be required to dial 1 in front of the number but won't be charged as long distance.  If you call Alberta from BC you will be required to have a long distance addon plan, but you can receive calls where ever you are located in Canada without a long distance addon.  I hope this didn't confuse to much.

ETA:  People in BC on a landline will be required to call you long distance as well anyone in BC that may only have a Province wide calling.