Placing a long distance call from your wireline telephone in the United States to a wireless phone in another country may result in a surcharge on your bill in addition to your usual charges.

Many foreign countries use a "calling party pays" framework under which wireless phone subscribers pay only for the outgoing calls they place to others. The calling party must pay for calls placed to wireless phones. Consequently, when you call international wireless customers using your landline phone, foreign service providers may pass through to your U.S. service provider the additional cost of connecting the call, which shows up as a surcharge on your bill.

Tips to avoid surcharges

  • Check with your long distance service provider for more specific information about international wireless surcharges and for international rates.
  • Check your service provider’s website, which may list surcharges for calls to particular countries.
  • Some countries use unique telephone numbers for wireless telephones. Check with your service provider for a listing of those numbers so you will know in advance whether calling a certain foreign number may result in a surcharge.

Printable Version

Surcharges for International Calls to Wireless Phones (pdf)

 

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