The Long-Distance Roam

Some subscribers may be unsure of where the border between roaming and long distance lies.

Sprint PCS

Total Hold Time: 2 minutes
Transfer/IVR Layers: 1

CSR: Thanks for calling Sprint. This is (name). How can I help you?

WR: What's the difference between long distance and roaming?

CSR: I can find out. Hold on, OK?
WR holds for one minute.

CSR: If you have long distance on your plan, there's no charge. All you're using is your airtime. Roaming means you are off the Sprint PCS network, and you're on someone else's satellite. They charge us for using their satellite, so we have to charge you.

WR: Does that mean I have to pay extra for the roaming?

CSR: You pay for any minute you used while you were roaming. Let's say you were driving and made a call with your phone in analog roaming, you'd get charged 40¢ per minute.

WR: How would I know I was getting charged extra, and do I get charged the same roaming fee no matter where I'm roaming?

CSR: Any time you roam it's 40¢ per minute. You can press *4 on your cell phone to tell you how many minutes you have left, and how many minutes you used while you were roaming.

WR: If I happen to be roaming and calling long distance at the same time, is there a charge for long distance?

CSR: No, just one charge for roaming.

Western Wireless

Total Hold Time: 1 minute
Transfer/IVR Layers: 0

CSR: Thank you for calling Cellular One financial services. This is (name).

WR: What's the difference between roaming and long distance?

CSR: Roaming is where you're out of your home area, and you're using another company's towers. They bill us, and we in turn bill you. That's typically when you're out of your coverage area. Long distance is when you're calling from your cell phone and you're using another company's long-distance service. So they are two separate things.

WR: When you're using another company's long-distance service?

CSR: Right. In other words, if you're in your coverage area, and you're calling out of your service area, there is long distance applied to that. If you're out of your coverage area, and you're calling to a local area, there would be no long distance. Again, if you were calling beyond the coverage area, then you're accessing another company. They bill you for that.

WR: So if I were in Manhattan, KS, and calling New York, would that be long distance?

CSR: Right. If you called from your coverage area to an area outside of your coverage area, that would be long distance. Roaming is when you're outside of your coverage area.

WR: If I were roaming and called long distance, would I have two charges — for roaming and for long distance?

CSR: You could have.

SunCom

Total Hold Time: 0
Transfer/IVR Layers: 1

CSR: How may I assist you?

WR: What's the difference between roaming and long distance?

CSR: Roaming is when you're using another carrier's towers. They charge us for allowing our customers to use their towers. So we bill the customer the cost for placing a call when roaming. You get long-distance charges because we have to assign you a temporary number to receive a call or to place a call, because you're not on your carrier's towers.

WR: So I only am charged for long distance when I'm roaming?

CSR: Yeah. What rate plan are you on?

WR: $79 Minutes Unlimited.

CSR: You have a 5-state calling area. Any calls you make to any of those five states, you won't be charged long distance. But if you call outside of those five states, then you will receive long-distance charges.

WR: So I could roam for free in those five states?

CSR: No. Whenever you roam, you will automatically be charged long distance. But if you call to any of those five areas that I told you about, then you won't be charged long distance. You can be charged long distance without being charged roaming, but you can't be charged roaming without ever being charged long distance.

Make It Clear

Roaming: The use of a wireless phone outside a specified geographic area defined by the carrier (usually called the “home” area). Outside of the home area, additional charges usually apply.

Long-Distance Call: Any telephone call to a destination outside the local service area and for which there is a charge beyond that for basic service.