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Phone Numbers Go Locationless

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the and-where-are-you-calling-from dept.

flipper65 writes "Well, it looks like one of the last bastions of the regional Bells is under attack. Now your VoIP provider can give you their own area code and exchange. With the proliferation of broadband and voice services, your land line is now as mobile as your cell phone, and cheaper. Look for this to turn in to a battle royal. The regional bells will not go quietly into that good night."

1 of 233 comments (clear)

  1. Will US cell charges become more "European" now? by rpjs · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Here in Yurp, in most countries mobiles have their own area codes (07xxx here in the UK). This means telcos can and do charge for calls to them at a different (higher) rate than traditional landline calls. However, this means the mobile user doesn't pay to receive the call as they do in the USA, where the other operators can't tell from the number alone that the call is going to a cellphone.

    Presumably if the US cell operators are savvy they'll be able to offer "no incoming call charge" service plans for people using these new numbering schemes.

    I always thought it was a bit bizarre of the US telcos to give geographical numbers to mobile phones.