covert%covert.DEC@decwrl.dec.com (John R. Covert) (06/02/89)
Steve Elias (eli@chipcom.chipcom.com) asks: >could any cellular phone users out there tell me how expensive it is >to use a cellular phone? what are the different minimum rates, charges >per call, local calling areas?? This is a complicated question -- there are over four hundred different sets of rates depending on location, and they vary drastically, from incredibly low rates such as Washington, D.C., with a $10/month off-peak rate INCLUDING 100 minutes of off-peak usage to very high rates such as in L.A. with $45/month and no minutes included. Since you're in Boston, you would probably take service from NYNEX Mobile or Cellular One (Southwestern Bell). NYNEX rates are: (monthly - peak minutes - off-peak minutes) A: $19 .45 .30 B: $45 .35 .30 C: $ 5 .65 .65 D: $9.95 .60 .25 (best plan for non-business users) E: $44 .45 .30 includes 60 minutes peak On outgoing calls, in addition to air time, you pay the same rates a business telephone user would pay. For local calls, this means that you pay for a local call from one of: Boston, Providence (RI), Worcester, New Bedford, Framingham, Brockton, Lynn, Lowell, or Lawrence regardless of where you are in the three state area (Eastern Mass, Rhode Island, Coastal New Hampshire). Local calls are charged in message units of .111 cents each, and for calls to places local to multi-message unit towns, such as Burlington (charged from Boston) you'll pay .333 cents for the first three minutes and .111 each additional minute (same as from a Boston phone). For non-local, intra-LATA calls, you'll pay the toll charge from the closest points. Since I have a Boston number, I don't know whether all inter-LATA toll is charged from Boston or if it is charged from the zone office (one of the nine above) which corresponds to your mobile number. When you're roaming in the Nashua/Manchester (Contel) system, the Biddeford, ME (Star Cellular) system, or the Portland, ME (Maine Cellular) systems, you'll pay .45/minute regardless of time of day. Note that you are _not_ roaming in Southern Massachusetts if you're a NYNEX customer; it is one continuous system. NYNEX has nationwide roaming agreements with mostly B but many A carriers, allowing you to choose the lowest rate and best service in many other cities. In particular, in New England and the Northeast, you are less likely to be hit with daily usage fees when roaming if you're a NYNEX customer. You'll also have roaming agreements with companies in San Francisco and Los Angeles, which Cellular One does not currently have. Cellular One rates are: $19 .44 .29 $44 .43 .28 w/ 60 $59 .42 .27 w/ 100 after 300 mins .35 .27 The points of interconnection for Cellular One are: Lynn, Lawrence, Waltham, Framingham, Worcester, Quincy, and Brockton When roaming on the A carriers in Nashua/Manchester, Biddeford, ME, Portland, ME, New Bedford, MA, and Providence, RI, you pay .44 and .29. When roaming outside this area, you will have roaming agreements with mostly A and some B carriers. You will be more likely to encounter daily fees, especially in the Northeast. Please realize that charging algorithms vary drastically from company to company and from city to city. For example, Contel in Nashua/Manchester does not charge a local call or toll call charge for anywhere in either their system or in the NYNEX system, even when roaming (or so I'm told by their customer service department). U.S. West in the Seattle area charges you for outgoing calls based on where you are and where you're calling within the area. Rates are changing faster than anyone can keep up with them (mostly going upward as fast as the market will bear). /john