07 mobile calls are only vaguely fair because people do have an idea that 07 is likely to cost them extra but the system is still unfair because there is not a call price announcement to announce the cost of the call per minute and this is not at all clear from the actual mobile phone number which does not identify the mobile phone operator.  Again this system works in the mobile phone industry's favour and against the consumer and the lowering of prices.

Call price announcements are the only fair system because as mobile phone numbers are portable then the number you have doesn't necessarily bear any relation to the mobile network that you are now on.

Of course in the USA this is all unnecessary because the caller pays for the mobile phone advantage and mobile phone calls cost thes same as fixed line.

Dave wrote on Dec 12^th, 2005 at 12:33pm:
Just to give some info about what happens in the US, where admittedly, the cellular market is often fragmented. I have a contract with Cingular, a GSM provider on the 850MHz and 1900MHz frequencies. Other providers' plans are similar, perhaps more minutes, perhaps less. For $60 per month (with FL and other taxes, this increases to ~$75 per month) for two handsets (me and the wife), we get 500 peak-time minutes shared across both handsets for incoming and outgoing calls. These minutes can rollover up to twelve months. The plan gives unlimited night (after 9pm) and weekend minutes, again for incoming and outgoing calls. To be honest, we have way too many minutes for our needs, so paying for the odd false or incorrect inbound call really isn't a problem (this is an issue, however, with pre-pay/PAYG). The advantages are that the cellular codes are exactly the same as ordinary land numbers, so a Miami cellular phone will have a 305 area code. These numbers are also portable to landline phones. I can call a 'local' Miami number at exactly the same cost as a number in Los Angeles or Chicago. I can also call a toll-free 800 number which is also taken from inclusive minutes. It is simple, effective, and the model of paying for incoming calls does not appear to be a problem to people here given that we do not need separate numbering for cellular systems. One downside is that calls are billed in one-minute intervals - no per-second charging here. I guess it's a balance, but I favour the system here. PAYG is somewhat different, and the called party pays model may not be appropriate, but for contracts with plenty of minutes, it really does not present a problem.

Forgot to mention, the plan gives unlimited calling to other Cingular phones at all times (I think this is referred to as 'on-net' in the UK). Also, roaming is free throughout the country, which may sound odd to UK residents, but this county has all sorts of mobile operators).

Dave wrote on Dec 12^th, 2005 at 1:30pm:
Handsets are subsidised, but (generally), not to the same extent as to that in the UK. Of course there are offers of free advanced handsets but you have to submit rebate claims (a common activity here). I believe that Cingular will provide a contract SIM without handset, but it is not an advertised offering as the demand is not great. Another difference is that contracts are often 24 month minumum with a $120 early termination penalty.

I paid around $200 for a 'smartphone' device and around $40 for my wife's Nokia, a basic but decent phone. I could have got the smartphone cheaper at Amazon and the Nokia free, but I couldn't be bothered to wait and to mess around with all the paperwork!