Up to the Minute

If a customer makes a call on his wireless phone, and there's no one there to answer it, is it still considered a call? And, more to the point, is there still a charge?

AirTouch Cellular
Total Hold Time: 1 minute
Transfers/IVR Layers: 1
CSR: Thank you for calling AirTouch Cellular, the new name for CommNet Cellular. This is (name). How can I help you?
WR: How am I billed? Does the time begin when I press send, or when the call connects?
CSR: Once you press the send button, you'll be charged airtime.
WR: Why isn't it when the call connects?
CSR: That's how our system is.
WR: Is there a charge when no one answers the phone?
CSR: You're not charged anything. If no one picks up, and it rings less than six times, then you're not charged.
WR: Do you round up your minutes?
CSR: They round up by the seconds to the next minute.
WR: So if I talk four minutes and 20 seconds I'm charged for five minutes?
CSR: No, you're charged for four minutes. That's just how we round minutes — up or down depending on which minute is closer.

Cellular One
Total Hold Time: 5 minutes
Transfers/IVR Layers: 2
CSR: Good afternoon. Thanks for calling. My name is (name). May I ask who I am speaking with?
WR: (Gives name). How does your company bill? Does the time begin when I press the send button or when the call connects?
CSR: OK. Up to 45 seconds of placing an outbound call, you're billed at a minute.
WR: What about the 15- to 20-second delay before the call connects? Am I charged for that time?
CSR: Whether the call is connected or not, at 45 seconds, you're going to be billed at a minute. So if you're placing a call, and the phone is ringing, and it's up to 45 seconds, and you decide to hang up, it's going to bill you as a minute.
WR: That means I'm being charged for time that I'm not using because my call never went through.
CSR: Right.
WR: What do you charge for additional minutes?
CSR: That would depend on if you purchased an analog phone vs. digital service.
WR: OK. Say I purchase digital. Would the time before my call connects count toward my package minutes?
CSR: Yes.
WR: So the price per minute is actually higher than what you advertise it to be, right? And it's time you're not using.
CSR: Well, you are using the phone. If you don't want to get charged as a minute then you could disconnect the call prior to getting to 45 seconds and then just try the call again. I always suggest to customers to disconnect the call around 30 to 35 seconds and then try it again because by the time you get to 30 or 35 seconds, the phone has already rung about five times.

Southwestern Bell Wireless
Total Hold Time: 6 minutes
Transfers/IVR Layers: 3
CSR: Thank you for choosing Southwestern Bell Wireless. This is (name). May I help you?
WR: How am I billed? Does the time start when I press send or ...
CSR: After 30 seconds.
WR: What about the delay before the call connects?
CSR: Once it starts ringing, the time starts.
WR: So I'm being charged for time I'm not using.
CSR: When it's ringing, it's connected. They're just not answering it.
WR: Well how does that compare to when I use my home phone? When I call someone and they don't answer, I'm not charged.
CSR: You're not charged per minute with your home phone.
WR: But with wireless, it counts away from my package minutes?
CSR: Yes.
WR: Even if no one answers?
CSR: Yes.
WR: Do you offer first incoming minute free like Aerial?
CSR: With incoming, the only time you're actually charged is if you answer the phone.
WR: OK. But if you do, the first minute isn't free?
CSR: No.
WR: Well, why are they able to offer that but you're not?
CSR: Separate companies.

Mystery Caller is Wireless Review's ongoing series of random calls to service providers to determine how a customer might be treated and the accuracy of distributed information.