Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

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. Re:Will US cell charges become more "European" now by weave · · Score: 1, Redundant
    I know the subscriber paying for all calls, incoming and outgoing, is a bit bizarre to non-US users, but it is definitely better. If I dial a mobile in another country, I have no competitive bargaining power for what I'll be charged, right?

    In the U.S. about all operators now offer unlimited free weekend and night minutes, plus free mobile-to-mobile minutes (providing both are on same carrier). THe bucket of "peak" minutes is so large that effectively all airtime is pretty darn cheap now. Competition has driven down the per minute costs.

    Also, since incoming and outgoing SMS messages are also charged, it allows more varied service offerings, like you can email an SMS message to the phone for no cost. In other countries, expensive SMS gateways are needed to ensure who sends the message pays the toll. That allows me to set up my hosts to SMS page me when there's a problem without need to hire an SMS gateway service to provide the transport and billing charges. Since like 1,000 text messages can be had for $5.00 -- who the hell cares if I get charged for incoming?