Making phone calls over Wi-Fi

[blackrose]

Can you be charged for making calls (including international calls) over Wi-Fi?

 

If you switch off mobile data on the phone and have unlimited data on Wi-Fi on a router isn't it just data that you're using, so how can they charge you for the call?

Edited June 28, 2021 by blackrose

[Hudds Lad]

Because you’re using their network and thats what they charge you for, you’re just using a different method to access it.

[PaulG]

There are applications available to enable you to use your data allowance to make calls for free.
Click for examples
 

Edited June 29, 2021 by PaulG

[john6767]

If you are making a call that goes one the PSTN then you will be charged as normal, the use of Wi-fi is just to supplement a poor local phone signal.  Are you talking about internationals calls specifically, don't all phone/sim packages now give unlimited calls and texts, with the only difference being the amount of data.  If you don’t have unlimited calls, I would speak to the carrier, you will probably be able to upgrade to get that, and I bet at a lower cost.

 

If you are making calls between apps then that is just over the IP network and the only charge would be for data.  Examples are WhatsApp, Skype, FaceTime, Facebook Messenger etc.  Those are the simplest way of speaking to, or video calling, your granny in Australia for no charge.

 

If you need to make calls that exit on the PSTN, ie to a real phone number, then you can use Skype to do that, but you need to put credit on you account as there is a charge, but for example you can use Skype to get yourself a US phone number and call numbers in the US at domestic rates (unless that has changed recently, I have not used that for a few years now).  An interesting one is that with Skype you can call US free phone numbers for free without any credit, that has come I useful in the past for me.

[Wittenham]

1 hour ago, john6767 said:

If you are making a call that goes one the PSTN [snip the clear and helpful info that followed, simply to save space]

 

someone has a background in telecoms!

[GUMPY]

We have been using  

https://www.dial123.co.uk/

For all our international calls, once numbers are set it's pretty seamless.

[blackrose]

9 hours ago, Hudds Lad said:

Because you’re using their network and thats what they charge you for, you’re just using a different method to access it.

 

But how can you be using their network if mobile data is switched off on your phone? That's the bit I don't understand.

 

If I'm calling over Wi-Fi with mobile data switched off I thought I would just be using the Wi-Fi/mobile broadband provider's network?

 

I have two different providers for the phone and for Wi-Fi.

Edited June 29, 2021 by blackrose

[Hudds Lad]

5 minutes ago, blackrose said:

 

But how can you be using their network if mobile data is switched off on your phone? That's the bit I don't understand.

 

Firstly, i'm assuming you're using the WiFi Calling option from your network provider and not Skype/WhatsApp etc.? In that case you're still using their infrastructure but making the initial access in a different way and that's why they charge.

If you imagine the call is a nice footbridge with steps either side over the canal, instead of using the mobile data "steps" to get on the bridge to cross over you are using a WiFi "ladder" to get on the bridge. You are still crossing the canal on their bridge and they want some of your allowance to do so.

That's probably a really bad analogy, but i've not had my morning coffee  

[blackrose]

Ok, I've got it now, thanks. Fortunately I didn't make any international calls before I asked the question.

[john6767]

1 hour ago, blackrose said:

 

But how can you be using their network if mobile data is switched off on your phone? That's the bit I don't understand.

 

If I'm calling over Wi-Fi with mobile data switched off I thought I would just be using the Wi-Fi/mobile broadband provider's network?

 

I have two different providers for the phone and for Wi-Fi.

Because you are calling a real phone number over the PSTN, you are just using Wi-fi to get to the PSTN.  It does not really matter that you have data off on you phone, the phone does not use data to make a call to the PSTN anyway, other than with the Wi-fi calling, and if the phone is on Wi-fi it will use that network.  It would be only if you used say FaceTime to make the call that it would only using the data network, and then you could either use the phone own data connection or connect the phone to a router and use that routers data connection.

[David Mack]

If you are calling a real phone number (landline or mobile), then at some point you need to use, and pay for, the phone network. If you are making a data call using WhatsApp, facetime etc. then you don't use the phone network, but the recipient will need to have the relevant app on their phone/computer.

 

I regularly have WhatsApp calls with my son in the USA and as it comes out of our data allowance it doesn't cost either of us anything.

Edited June 29, 2021 by David Mack

[ditchcrawler]

8 hours ago, john6767 said:

If you are making a call that goes one the PSTN then you will be charged as normal, the use of Wi-fi is just to supplement a poor local phone signal.  Are you talking about internationals calls specifically, don't all phone/sim packages now give unlimited calls and texts, with the only difference being the amount of data.  If you don’t have unlimited calls, I would speak to the carrier, you will probably be able to upgrade to get that, and I bet at a lower cost.

 

If you are making calls between apps then that is just over the IP network and the only charge would be for data.  Examples are WhatsApp, Skype, FaceTime, Facebook Messenger etc.  Those are the simplest way of speaking to, or video calling, your granny in Australia for no charge.

 

If you need to make calls that exit on the PSTN, ie to a real phone number, then you can use Skype to do that, but you need to put credit on you account as there is a charge, but for example you can use Skype to get yourself a US phone number and call numbers in the US at domestic rates (unless that has changed recently, I have not used that for a few years now).  An interesting one is that with Skype you can call US free phone numbers for free without any credit, that has come I useful in the past for me.

I use to use SKYPE to ring Mexico on a regular basis using the laptop and didn't have a Mexican number, just my standard SKYPE account. It was also very useful for texts as it looked as if they came from my mobile phone, that was before I had a smart phone with a qwerty key board. again a small charge

[john6767]

3 hours ago, ditchcrawler said:

I use to use SKYPE to ring Mexico on a regular basis using the laptop and didn't have a Mexican number, just my standard SKYPE account. It was also very useful for texts as it looked as if they came from my mobile phone, that was before I had a smart phone with a qwerty key board. again a small charge

I can’t remember exactly how it worked, but you certainly do not have to have a number in the country you were calling, but for receiving calls then it would be beneficial as the person calling would be making a domestic call.  I thought to you could have numbers in multiple countries but I could be wrong.  

There are possibly better options now than Skype, and now it is owned by Microsoft I see they may be planning to kill it in favour of Teams (which uses the Skype technology) in Windows 11.

[Rob-M]

5 minutes ago, john6767 said:

I can’t remember exactly how it worked, but you certainly do not have to have a number in the country you were calling, but for receiving calls then it would be beneficial as the person calling would be making a domestic call.  I thought to you could have numbers in multiple countries but I could be wrong.  

There are possibly better options now than Skype, and now it is owned by Microsoft I see they may be planning to kill it in favour of Teams (which uses the Skype technology) in Windows 11.

I think Skype had local break out options so the final PSTN connection was "in country" if Microsoft had a presence in the destination country.

 

Teams is the future for Microsoft messaging and calling, it doesn't use Skype technology though as Teams was built from the ground up and Microsoft provide a gateway between Teams and Skype to make it look like seamless integration.

[john6767]

1 hour ago, Rob-M said:

I think Skype had local break out options so the final PSTN connection was "in country" if Microsoft had a presence in the destination country.

 

Teams is the future for Microsoft messaging and calling, it doesn't use Skype technology though as Teams was built from the ground up and Microsoft provide a gateway between Teams and Skype to make it look like seamless integration.

Interesting, from what I have seen of teams it looks like a bit of a patchwork, at the time I was stopping working they glued some Skype stuff  into Lync, and rebranded it Skype of Business, Teams come over as a similar bodge job.  Luckily I don’t need to worry about this stuff anymore, as I am too old!

[ditchcrawler]

It could prove usefull when mobile phone companies start charging extra for use overseas

[Machpoint005]

Perhaps I'm old-fashioned, but shouldn't we expect to pay for things we use, eg the international phone network? I don't expect to get electricity for free, regardless of whether it's a metered supply or included in my mooring fees.

 

(I fully appreciate that the inclusion or exclusion of roaming in your mobile phone data package is not the same thing.)

 

 

[IanD]

4 hours ago, Machpoint005 said:

Perhaps I'm old-fashioned, but shouldn't we expect to pay for things we use, eg the international phone network? I don't expect to get electricity for free, regardless of whether it's a metered supply or included in my mooring fees.

 

(I fully appreciate that the inclusion or exclusion of roaming in your mobile phone data package is not the same thing.)

 

 

If the call goes over the data network then you're not using the "international phone network" any more, you're using the Internet.

 

Actually, a lot of "international phone traffic" isn't actually a phone call any more, it's just more data travelling over a network -- sometimes private, sometimes exactly the same network used for Internet access -- which pops up into the local phone network at the other end via a local link. Doesn't stop them charging you an arm and a leg for it though -- except 3 who used to include free/bundled international calls to a lot of countries, which gave away the fact that it was all just data to them.

 

And if they do this, the amount of data load on the network generated by a phone call is absolutely tiny compared to data uses, which is why they don't need to charge extra for it.

 

In other words, what you're really buying today is data, phone calls and texts are just a tiny part of this which is why they're unlimited even on cheap data packages -- and you can't get "data-free" (call/text only) deals on mobile any more.

[ditchcrawler]

9 hours ago, Machpoint005 said:

Perhaps I'm old-fashioned, but shouldn't we expect to pay for things we use, eg the international phone network? I don't expect to get electricity for free, regardless of whether it's a metered supply or included in my mooring fees.

 

(I fully appreciate that the inclusion or exclusion of roaming in your mobile phone data package is not the same thing.)

 

 

But you do pay for your internet access to connect anywhere in the world, it just you are using the most convenient outlet to connect to the phone system. When I was at work even our company phone system did it, In Lowestoft and dial an Aberbeen phone number than it automatically when through private lines to Aberdeen and out as a local call

[Jim Batty]

Dial a Code app: http://www.dialacode.com

 

Not free, but really cheap to phone many places in the world if you're on either the 3 or O2 networks; on a contract or pay-as-you-go. For example, 2p/minute to USA, Canada, NZ, Australia, India, etc. 3p/minute to France, Brasil, Greece, etc.

 

You just open the app, choose a person in your Contacts list ... and ring them. If you are on a contract, the cost of the call is added to your bill. If you are a PAYG customer, the cost of the call is deducted from your balance.