Is this a free call?

May 21, 2021 6:33 AM

I'm in the US calling someone else who has a US phone number, but this person is currently in India. Is this treated like a normal intra-US call, or not? I have just the basic Verizon calling plan and don't want to incur extra charges. Prefer to use phone, but can zoom if I must!
posted by gigondas to Technology (8 answers total)

For you, yes it should be free as usual.

For them, it depends on their roaming coverage, and may or may not be free. Most providers have gone to a flat rate roaming charge per day. So they may be paying $10 a day to have their phone working in India.
posted by tiamat at 6:43 AM on May 21, 2021 [1 favorite]

It depends on whether the person you're calling has a 'roam as if you're at home' option on their calling plan (which some UK carriers offer, not sure about the USA - it treats calls to the number as if they're in the home country). Otherwise, provided the person you're calling has allowed 'roaming' on their phone, it'll be treated as an overseas call, because it'll connect via Indian phone networks. If they've not allowed call or data roaming, you won't get through.

Can you use WhatsApp instead, where you can connect over WiFi at no cost to you? There may be a cost to the person you're calling if they're not connected to WiFi when you call, and they've allowed data roaming on their phone. If they're not connected to WiFi and don't have data roaming enabled, then you won't get through on WhatsApp either.
posted by essexjan at 6:43 AM on May 21, 2021

If there are extra charges, and there definitely may be, they would be charged to your friend who's in India. You will not be charged anything extra for calling this US number.

In India WhatsApp is extensively used. Using that for your call might save them money.
posted by fritley at 6:46 AM on May 21, 2021 [5 favorites]

iPhone to iPhone? Use Facetime to place the call. iPhone to Android, you might still have a free option if you're both connected to Wifi and your phone plans support voice over IP.
posted by emelenjr at 7:00 AM on May 21, 2021 [4 favorites]

Yes it should be a normal phone call for you. When I've travelled internationally with my US phone, I have to activate international calls and pay extra.
posted by DoubleLune at 8:10 AM on May 21, 2021

I have Verizon and travel frequently (or did pre-COVID). If you make a regular phone call to your colleague's US number, it will work as normal for you (no extra charge). What happens on the other end depends on their plan and how they're connected. If they are on the local cell network and have roaming enabled, they can receive the call but they will be charged for roaming, which is either a flat $10/day if they have TravelPass set up or $1.79/min if they don't. They MIGHT be able to get around this by connecting to WiFi - I'm pretty sure incoming calls from the US over WiFi are free if their phone supports VoIP.

Honestly, if your colleague has reliable WiFi, I would suggest either using FaceTime (if you both have iPhones) or one of the multitude of free app options out there. In the past I've just relied on a combination of WhatsApp and Skype when I'm traveling and want to make a call back to the US, seems to work well enough. Your colleague might already have WhatsApp, it's extremely popular outside of the US.
posted by photo guy at 11:56 AM on May 21, 2021 [1 favorite]

not sure about the USA

For historical reasons, the USA treats all phone calls as though they were made to a landline number and charges *the recipient* extra if it is a mobile phone or if it is roaming. Explanation.
posted by bashing rocks together at 11:58 PM on May 21, 2021

I have used Whatsapp for this exact scenario (calling my mom's US number while she was in India). Free for everyone.

Whatsapp is used more than cell networks in India anyway; if your friend is interacting with any Indians they likely already have it installed.
posted by basalganglia at 3:08 AM on May 22, 2021