Is calling a cell phone number long distance if it is a different area code?

Answer 1

It depends on your calling plan. If you are calling a mobile phone (cell phone), the cost depends only on the telephone number, not on where the mobile happens to be physically located at the time you call. For example, if you are using a landline in Napa, California, calling a cell phone with a number from Eureka, California, they are both in area code 707, but not within the same local calling area. Toll charges will apply for the call, unless you have a calling plan with a larger local calling area (or unlimited nationwide long distance).

Answer 2

It depends on your phone company and your calling plan, but in general, YES.

If you are in a large metropolitan area with multiple area codes, or if you just happen to live near an area code boundary, you may have local calling to some numbers in other nearby area codes. If your calling plan includes unlimited long distance in the U.S., that includes cell phone numbers in all U.S. area codes.

However, if your neighbor moved there from halfway across the country and kept his or her cell number, it will be treated as a long-distance call, even if your neighbor is standing in your living room at the time.

Answer 3

Most cell phone plans however do not differentiate between long distance and local calls on your plans. You are just given a certain number of minutes per month to use for any calls (not within your network, or fave five, etc.) However, this does mean that if you have a New Orleans area code for your cell phone, no matter where you are in the states, someone from New Orleans can call you and it will be a local call. It is all based upon the area code of your cell phone, and not the physical location from where you are making/receiving the call.

The rules can also vary depending on your carrier and calling plan. For example, with some carriers in Canada, you may be charged a long-distance surcharge if you call a number outside your home local calling area, whether you are there or elsewhere, and you may also be charged a long-distance surcharge if you call a number in your home calling area from elsewhere. They get you coming and going.

Answer 4

It depends.

In the US and Canada, cell phones use the same geographic area codes and prefixes as landlines. Each prefix is assigned to a "rate center," which is the city or town that prefix is associated with. Each rate center is local to certain other rate centers, and long distance to everywhere else. The prefixes that are local to you may or may not be all in your area code, especially if you live near the boundary of another area code.

The only thing you can say for certain is that any number is local to at least some of the numbers in the same area code. There may be toll numbers in the same area code, and there may be local numbers in other area codes.

Answer 5

Yes, there are many cases where a number in the same area code is long distance. For example, Juneau, Alaska, and Nome, Alaska, are over 1,000 miles apart (over 1,700 km), but they are both in area code 907.

Answer 6

It depends on whether the cellphone's area code and prefix are within your local calling area. That is based on the "home" location of the cellphone, not its current actual location.

For example, if you are in Phoenix, Arizona, on a landline in area code 602, and you dial a cellphone that is in area code 623, that is a local call, because all calls between area codes 602, 623, and 480 are local calls. (Area code 623 is also part of the Phoenix area.) However, if you dial a cellphone that is in area code 207 (Maine), that will be long distance, even if the cellphone is physically in the same room with you. But if you dial that 623 local cellphone number when the cellphone is physically in Maine (or anywhere from Australia to Zimbabwe), it will still be a local call.

Answer 7

In the US and Canada, and in many other countries, there is not an exact match between area codes and local calling areas. In fact, Mexico is quite unusual in that the area code and local calling area are always exactly the same.

In San Francisco, in area code 415, a call to Point Reyes, also in area code 415, is toll. However, calls to Oakland (510) and Daly City (650) are local.

In Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, in area codes 905 and 289, all calls to area codes 416 and 647 are local, but some calls to other parts of area codes 905 and 289 are toll.

To make it more confusing, some places require you to dial 1+area+number for all toll calls, but allow you to dial just area+number for local calls. Other areas allow you to dial just the 7-digit number within the same area code (local or toll), but require you to dial 1+area+number for other area codes (again, local or toll).

Answer 8

The actual physical location of a cell phone has absolutely nothing to do with the cost to call it. The cost is entirely based on the location associated with the phone number.

If you call a cell phone with a number from the other side of the country, you will pay toll charges to the other side of the country, even if the person with that cell phone is standing next to you as you dial.

On the other hand, if you call a cell phone that has a number that is a local call for you, it is still a local call even if that cell phone is halfway around the world.

Answer 9

No