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Roaming vs long-distance

TP626
Good Citizen / Bon Citoyen

Hey,

 

I'm pretty new to the cell phone world so please be gentle. Smiley Tongue

 

I am unclear about the concept of roaming and long distance. Suppose that my "home location" is in City A and I travel to City B (which is normally a long distance call from City A.) If I call a neighbour in City A from City B, is that considered a "local" call (since it it so close to my "home location"?) or a long-distance call  (since the two cities are so far apart?

 

For context, I am on the $15 / 100 minute plan.

 

The reason why I ask is that I am now considering getting a second cell phone (the first is actually our new home phone, replacing our Bell landline phone.) If I travel to somewhere a few hours away from home, is it considered a local or long-distance call when I call back to my house?

 

I'm sure that this is a very trivial question that everybody who has used a cell phone a bunch knows ... but thatgroup of people doesn't include me! Smiley Wink

17 REPLIES 17

chukdefatey
Deputy Mayor / Adjoint au Maire

@ecowen wrote:

Thank you for this clear answer.  This is a question I've wondered about as well.  So, if you're out off your coverage area, eg the US,  a Public phone shouldn't work without a US add on?  I've heard of people getting into trouble and racking up huge roaming charges unknowingly as their phone has worked in foreign countries and roaming was automatic.  I assume this can't happen with Public.  Am I right?  


With Public Mobile & Lucky Mobile there are no Pay Per use or overages or Long distance or any sort of BS Charges what so ever.  If something is not included in your plan or an add on you have Purchased it simply just doesn't work.

@ecowenIf you are in the US, with Public Mobile you can receive text (for free). Other wise if you don't pay for US add on, you do'nt get US add on. No overages and roaming etc.

ecowen
Model Citizen / Citoyen Modèle

Thank you for this clear answer.  This is a question I've wondered about as well.  So, if you're out off your coverage area, eg the US,  a Public phone shouldn't work without a US add on?  I've heard of people getting into trouble and racking up huge roaming charges unknowingly as their phone has worked in foreign countries and roaming was automatic.  I assume this can't happen with Public.  Am I right?  

dna2016
Deputy Mayor / Adjoint au Maire

@TP626 Wlecome to the cell phone world, lol.  Luckily with Public Mobile they take away a lot of this guess work.  Unlike other providers, you are going anywhere in Canada.  If you have a plan that provides Canada Wide calls then you can be anywhere in Canada making calls to any Canadian number and not have to worry.  Once you leave Canada (i.e. U.S. then that's when roaming kicks in and you'll need to purchase add-ons for these calls).

@TP626 

I think @Lemony_Snicket explained it well already, but to be more precise, roaming is connecting to another operator's core network.

 

In Canada, there are some areas where Bell/Telus have no coverage but Rogers does. In those areas, there is no roaming agreement, so you would be out of service and can only make emergency 911 calls.

 

For mobile subscribers, every Bell and Sasktel site is connected to the Telus core network, which means PM subscribers can use all of these cell sites.

 

See here for Bell/Telus sharing: https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/Discussions/Network-sharing-explained/m-p/129092#M420...

Korth
Mayor / Maire

If your question has anything to do with the Settings slider(s) on your phone which can Enable/Disable Roaming then I dunno what effect (if any) they really have.

You'd expect them to work perfectly, simply turn phone on/off for billing purposes. And maybe that's exactly how they really work.

But my confidence in phone-side software isn't very high. Minute counters and Data counters built into the operating system (or provided through user-installed apps) are never completely accurate, the only numbers which matter are the ones Self-Serve reports on your billing.

 

On the plus side, PM is strictly prepaid so if you didn't already buy some sort of US Talk then you just don't get any to use. It's impossible to exceed the limits and be overcharged because once you hit the limits you just get cut off. 

darlicious
Mayor / Maire

@TP626 wrote:

Hey,

 

I'm pretty new to the cell phone world so please be gentle. Smiley Tongue

 

I am unclear about the concept of roaming and long distance. Suppose that my "home location" is in City A and I travel to City B (which is normally a long distance call from City A.) If I call a neighbour in City A from City B, is that considered a "local" call (since it it so close to my "home location"?) or a long-distance call  (since the two cities are so far apart?

 

For context, I am on the $15 / 100 minute plan.

 

The reason why I ask is that I am now considering getting a second cell phone (the first is actually our new home phone, replacing our Bell landline phone.) If I travel to somewhere a few hours away from home, is it considered a local or long-distance call when I call back to my house?

 

I'm sure that this is a very trivial question that everybody who has used a cell phone a bunch knows ... but thatgroup of people doesn't include me! Smiley Wink


I believe your roaming vs long distance question has been answered. But I thought I might give you a little advice on adding a second phone. One will remain at home mostly to act as your home phone the other will primarily act as your mobile phone. The first consideration before you choose a plan is you data needs. Since you are new to cell phones it is likely that your mobile data needs are low. Unless of course you do not have home internet then you might need slightly higher data usage. If your data needs are low then the plan for either of your phone's would be best at 2 tiers. $25 unlimited Canada/US-wide calling and texting + 500mb data(with auto pay+ extra 500mb data)

And the $15 unlimited Canada/US-wide texts and incoming calls+100 outgoing minutes. You may consider purchasing the $5/500min add on as a little insurance for that phone. They will roll over til used up so very good value. Set up with auto pay this phone will give you an additional 250mb of data. Depending on your circumstance you can decide which phone to take with you or leave at home. The $15 phone can text the other to call to minimize outgoing call usage and the $25 can be used to retrieve voicemail or call forwarding with no worries about using up limited outgoing minutes. This will give you 2 phones if set up on auto pay for $36 p/m + 1.25gb of data between the two. Given that there is not an immediate need for the second phone you may want to wait for another flash sale to activate another phone.

 If you are thinking of adding the second phone in the near future and you may want more data...or your total data needs are low and you have a home internet service and are thinking of cancelling it and replacing it with mobile data you have a couple more choices to consider. Until Sept 30th there is a rbc promo. Activate online, choose a $40 +plan enter RBCREWARDS in the promo box pay with a credit card and receive $10 off p/m for 6 months and a 5gb data bonus (that rolls over til used up or change plans)

The $40 plan has 5gb data and the $50 has 8.5gb (both including 500mb data auto pay bonus.) These plans depending on your data needs could allow you to cancel home internet service and you can hotspot data off your phone for tablet or laptop use. With the rbc promo, the referral code promo+reward ($10 and $1) the 2 phones on the $15 and $40 plans for the first 6 months would be $40 p/m with the additional $10 referral credit applied on the second bill and would include 5.25gb data between the 2 phones and the 5gb data bonus or $50 per month with 8.75gb of data. Either of these combined plans may supply enough data to cancel home internet service....which could offset the 2 phone plans cost. A lot to consider and wrap your head around but worthwhile in the whole scheme of things. Just remember that you can use your referral code on your first phone when activating the second and you will get that $1 reward every month as well as the $10 credit.

And to think you only had a roaming question and you got this! Btw welcome to public mobile!

Korth
Mayor / Maire

$15 Plan

https://www.publicmobile.ca/en/on/plans/15for250MB-3Gspeed

... Limited Canada-wide Talk - 100 minutes Outgoing calls and Unlimited Incoming calls, from anywhere in Canada to anywhere in Canada. (Some billing is per-second but most billing is rounded up to per-minute. And calls to Voicemail from your mobile number are counted minutes.) 

 

You can purchase Add-ons.

 

US Roaming Talk Add-ons basically give you Unlimited USA-wide Talk - Unlimited calls from (almost) anywhere in USA to (almost) anywhere in USA.

The catch is a flat 10-day non-interruptable duration once activated. If you need US Talk for more than short durations then upgrading to a $50 Unlimited Canada & US Talk Plan might cost less overall. 

 

$8 US & Canada Long-Distance Add-on is 200 minutes of Outgoing calls to anywhere in Canada or USA.

$15 International Long-Distance Add-on is 400 minutes of Outgoing calls to anywhere in Canada, USA (including Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico; excluding various annexed islands and territories), China (including Hong Kong, excluding Taiwan), France, Germany, Greece, India, Italy, Malaysia, Mexico, Poland, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, South Korea, Thailand, UK (excluding Ireland and Australia), Venezuela.

Long-Distance Add-Ons are a good deal if you call semi-frequently to/from USA or other countries on the list. Unused minutes rollover indefinitely (across billing cycles) until they're all used.

Plan minutes are always used before Add-on minutes, when applicable.

Some calls like Kitchener to the City of Cambridge both in Ontario are considered local as the local calling centres have been set up as such.  10 digit dialing is required to make such calls.

A call from Windsor to Kitchener is a long distance call, and would need to be dialed (normally) with a 1 before the 10-digits.  These cities also in Ontario.

 

Public Mobile Canadawide plans are coast to coast, wherever a Bell or Telus. Tower is connected, and you’ll be able to make calls at no cost to you within Canada.

 

I you get a message advising you your call may charged, ignore it.  Or hangup and add the 1 first.

TP626
Good Citizen / Bon Citoyen

Thanks everybody. I guess that part of my confusion was that the Add-On is called "Canada and US Long-Distance". As I was unaware of the old "within Province" plans, I was thinking:  why would they call it 'Canada and US long-distance' if there is no such thing as Canada long-distance?

 

Is there truly no place in Canada that has cell coverage but is not considered within my home network (i.e. some place that only has Bell or Rogers coverage but not Telus)? In other words, any place that I can get a signal would not chew into my long-distance Add-On minutes if I were to call my home?

 

And, in response to the first half of @geopublic's response (sent while I was typing this), I was specifically concerned about taking my PM phone on a trip to another city and whether or not it would cost my LD minutes to call back to my home (or anybody else that is normally a local call from my house.)

geopublic
Mayor / Maire

@TP626 wrote:

Hey,

 

I'm pretty new to the cell phone world so please be gentle. Smiley Tongue

 

I am unclear about the concept of roaming and long distance. Suppose that my "home location" is in City A and I travel to City B (which is normally a long distance call from City A.) If I call a neighbour in City A from City B, is that considered a "local" call (since it it so close to my "home location"?) or a long-distance call  (since the two cities are so far apart?

 

For context, I am on the $15 / 100 minute plan.

 

The reason why I ask is that I am now considering getting a second cell phone (the first is actually our new home phone, replacing our Bell landline phone.) If I travel to somewhere a few hours away from home, is it considered a local or long-distance call when I call back to my house?

 

I'm sure that this is a very trivial question that everybody who has used a cell phone a bunch knows ... but thatgroup of people doesn't include me! Smiley Wink


@TP626 On the $15 you have unlimited incoming calls so anyone from anywhere in the world can call you and it's included with your plan. You also have 100 outgoing minutes on that plan that is Canada Wide so you can call anywhere in Canada without any additional charges.

Lemony_Snicket
Town Hero / Héro de la Ville

Since nobody provided an exact definition of roaming, I will add my 2¢ worth.  Roaming involves connecting to a network that is not the home network.  In the case of Public Mobile, there's coverage Canada wide and so there's no such thing as roaming when using the service in Canada.

 

All the plans offered by Public Mobile have Canada wide minutes and so there's no long distance to consider when calling anyone in Canada.  For long distance calls outside the country, there's add-on options to buy long distance minutes.

Dunkman
Oracle
Oracle

@TP626 

On the $15 plan, you have 100 Canada wide minutes and unlimited incoming minutes.  So, as long as you are in Canada, it should not matter.  Any outgoing minutes includes local (ie. within same city) or long distance (outside city, province, within Canada).  

 

Long distance is calling outside your local area.  Does not matter whether in City A or B.  Roaming is when you leave your local area.  But, as mentioned above, with Canada wide plan, roaming issues should not affect your plan as long as you are in Canada.  

 

Some of the older plans included provincial wide calling only, but if you just signed up, this would not affect you.  


@bugs wrote:

A different city is considered long-distance. A call within the same city is considered local. 


Also I believe roaming refers to when you are outside the coverage area of your network. 

 

Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

 


$15
  • 100 minutes Canada-wide talk

bugs
Great Neighbour / Super Voisin

A different city is considered long-distance. A call within the same city is considered local. 


Also I believe roaming refers to when you are outside the coverage area of your network. 

 

Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

Triguy
Mayor / Maire

You can call within Canada and it is not long distance.  Roaming is if you have an add-on to make calls from the US while traveling.

hairbag1
Mayor / Maire

@TP626 wrote:

Hey,

 

I'm pretty new to the cell phone world so please be gentle. Smiley Tongue

 

I am unclear about the concept of roaming and long distance. Suppose that my "home location" is in City A and I travel to City B (which is normally a long distance call from City A.) If I call a neighbour in City A from City B, is that considered a "local" call (since it it so close to my "home location"?) or a long-distance call  (since the two cities are so far apart?

 

For context, I am on the $15 / 100 minute plan.

 

The reason why I ask is that I am now considering getting a second cell phone (the first is actually our new home phone, replacing our Bell landline phone.) If I travel to somewhere a few hours away from home, is it considered a local or long-distance call when I call back to my house?

 

I'm sure that this is a very trivial question that everybody who has used a cell phone a bunch knows ... but thatgroup of people doesn't include me! Smiley Wink


You can call anywhere in Canada as long as you're in Canada.

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