Mobile Phone Bills

January 19th, 2007

I actually don’t know how mobile operators can get away with charging the rates they do for phone calls. Taking O2 as an example, calls to non-O2 phones are 40p per minute. Calls to landlines and O2 phones are 5p a minute after the first 3 minutes which is a little bit more reasonable.

However, BT allows you to call for a whole hour for 6p and many broadband packages now bundle free calls to landlines. SkypeOut allows you to call landlines for 1p a minute.

Even with brands which may normally be associated with low costs such as Tesco Value Mobile, calls cost 15p a minute. It costs 20p a minute to call a Virgin Mobile from a landline.

Line Rental

I suppose you could argue that because mobile operators are generally pay as you go and don’t charge an £11/month line rental like BT does, the higher prices allow them to recoup some of that money. Additionally, there is the cost of having to maintain the masts, etc.

International Calls

BBC News reported on the high costs of receiving calls when abroad. For a 4 minute peak time call, approximately:

  • Calling the UK from Spain: 3.45-5.81 euros (£2.38-£4.01)
  • Receiving a call in Spain from the UK: 1.66-4.40 euros (£1.15-£3.04)
I think the problem is simply having your phone on whilst being abroad – if somebody calls you, it becomes very expensive to even pick up the phone. The European Commission are looking to cap the costs inside the EU.

Free Ringtone? Spot the catch…

Honestly, who pays £13.50 a week for ringtones?

    

About Ken
Ken Lo

My mission is to demystify the world of mobile technology for general audiences and to communicate how mobile technology can enhance every aspect of our daily lives. I've been maintaining the Ken's Tech Tips website since 2004.

I have experience communicating mobile technology and presenting new mobile products both online and offline, including at various trade shows and events. You can check out my profile or drop me an e-mail.

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  • Comments(5)

5 Responses to “Mobile Phone Bills”

  1. # Xoligyon 19 Jan 2007 at 11:00 pm

    But:

    • Landlines pay line rental
    • Mobile phone masts cost a lot to maintain
    • Mobile phone masts are network specific
    • There’s more competition
    • BT are much larger and benefit from economies of scale.

    If all the operators are charging high prices it’s for a reason.

     As for international calls, that’s largely due to the fact satellites are needed which aren’t cheap :P But I agree they do rip you off with that. Vodaphone have a good deal there where you can ring up and set your plan so it’s a lot cheaper (I can’t remember the specifics).

  2. # Foxedon 20 Jan 2007 at 1:52 am

    Damn that ring tone add is bad… things like that should be banned.

  3. # Clearon 25 Jan 2007 at 12:09 am

    Calls are cheap, not as cheap as landline bit the companies rip us off.

  4. # Dddon 01 Mar 2007 at 1:57 pm

    these mobile comapnies do as they like

  5. # Chrison 22 Nov 2007 at 4:19 pm

    I’m with O2 and I wasn’t fully aware of the exorbitant charges either until about a week ago when I got my bill, I barely used my phone whilst I was on holiday and the bill was about twice the size! Been looking around for a cheaper contract as mine runs out soon and I don’t think its a particularly good deal.. <a href="http://www.dotmobile.co.uk">dot mobile student mobile phone deals</a> *seem* like a good deal, as they use units as opposed to minutes and text, but I bet the cost of using your mobile overseas will be just as astronomical

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