What do they mean

[LSMFT]

When a cell phone company says 'Free mobile to mobile" Do they mean mobile to land line is not free? These companies seem so crooked.

[ChairMan]

In news:Rsmpp.5294$ [e-mail], LSMFT spewed forth:

usually means to other customers on the same network

[DerbyDad03]

"Free mobile to mobile" means only that - mobile to mobile calls are free.

You shouldn't imply anything about mobile to land line calls based on what they say about mobile to mobile calls. That's a totally separate issue that needs to be investigated on it's own.

That's akin to assuming that a 50% off sale on shirts mean you won't get 50% off on pants. Maybe you will, maybe you won't. Apples to oranges. No relation.

[LSMFT]

So I gotta know what kind of phone the person has that I'm calling? Sounds like shit fraud to me.

[bob haller]

Just get net 10 unlimited phone internet 411 all for 50 bucks a month:)

and talk continiously its all free after the 50 bucks

[Pete C.]

Generally it means that domestic mobile to mobile calls are not charged any minutes under the plan, while mobile to land line calls charge minutes, usually from your plan quota at no extra charge, and then at a per minute charge for overage. Frequently the unlimited mobile to mobile is limited to "in network" i.e. calls to other mobiles on the same carrier. I routinely make 2hr+ mobile to mobile in-network calls halfway across the US at no extra charge.

[Kurt Ullman]

Depends on the carrier. SPrint, for instance, that means to any mobile from any company (in the US obviously). Not landlines or 800 numbers. Don't know why crooked.

[LSMFT]

Good answer.

[George]

No fan of many megacorps but what is crooked about "free mobile to mobile"? A landline isn't a mobile.

[Ed Pawlowski]

"LSMFT" wrote

Not really. If you are calling a business, you usually get a landline. If you are calling home or calling your mother, you already know. If Uncle Bob says 'here's my cell number" you put it into the directory that way. You can also tell by the area code in some places as certain ones are used only for mobile. If you are calling your kid's phones that you gave them, you'd know that too.

You may not like the idea, but it is not fraud at all. No scam involved at any level.

[George]

Don't know about other carriers but my carrier has a simple tool on their web site to determine if the number you are calling is eligible for free mobile-mobile. All you need to do is input the number and click.

[trader4]

mobile to mobile" Do they mean

I guess he's point was that you don't necessarily know whether a number you dial is a landline, mobile, in-network mobile, etc. It's kind of like a shop where some things are on sale, others aren't and it;s not clearly marked.

But as Ed pointed out, many times you know the person you're calling and whether it's their mobile # and/or what carrier they are on. Also as Pete pointed out, the usual practice is that if the call is not free, then it just charges against your monthly minutes.

I have Verizon and in-network mobile to mobile is not counted. From a practical standpoint, not a problem for me. I have a plan with 400 mins and never come close to using them all. Most of the people I have long conversations with are on Verizon. To take advantage of the calls that don't count against your minutes, you just need to keep an eye on your bill occasionally and if you don't know what company someone is with that you plan on having long calls with, ask them.

[DerbyDad03]

Are you implying that I don't a firm command of the english language? From your post, I'm inferring that implication.

[George]

mobile to mobile" Do they mean

Same here. All of our family and most of my friends are on VZW. VZW also has the feature where you can add 10 more "non-network" numbers for "free" calling. So our use of plan minutes is low.

If I need to make a call I will do it no matter what. If it will be a recurring thing I go here to check:

[mkirsch1]

Last I checked, cell phones were not a Constitutional right, and cell companies were not charities.

Hell, they give away the farm now because of competition. Back in the day, you paid for every minute of every call, no matter who you called. Some companies even made it a 3-minute minimum per call. Minutes were up to a quarter each! Talk about crooked!

Now you get minutes for fractions of a cent. You get free mobile to mobile all day every day. You get free night and weekend minutes to any phone. You get free calls to a select list of numbers you specify (i.e. "friends and family" plan).

If you exceed your plan's limits, they hit you HARD, but only an idiot lets that happen.

[mm]

No, you can talk to whomever you want. You'll just have to pay for some of them. If you talk to someone for long periods, it would be in your interest to have the same company he does. If you get a phone or help pick out of a phone for your kids or your spouse or parents, or even if you just discuss it, you might want to consider if you'll be talking to them a lot or not.

IF you're going to throw around words like crooked and fraud for something that is so reasonable and easy to use, well, I'm not going to be able to trust your opinion on anything.

[ktos]

It means you are stupid.