Understanding Roaming Calls

While many people have a difficult time understanding what is or isn't a roaming call it's actually a very simple thing to understand. To illustrate the point we'll give examples using two different people - Tom and Bill. Tom and Bill both live in New York and have regional calling plans that cover New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.

Tom and Bill are out on two different sales meeting in Manhattan, New York at different locations. When they call each other these are regular calls as they are both inside of the regional calling area.

Tom is having a meeting in Trenton New Jersey and Bill is in Groton Connecticut. If they call each other, it would still be a regular call as they are both inside of the regional calling area.

Tom is still in Trenton but Bill is now in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. If Tom were to call Bill that would be a long distance call as the person receiving the call is outside of the regional calling area. If Bill were to call Tom that would be a roaming charge as Bill who originated the call is outside of the calling area, but Tom who is receiving is inside of the calling area. These calls would be more expensive even though the distance is less than the New Jersey - Connecticut example.

Tom is now in Raleigh South Carolina, and Bill is still in Pittsburgh. If Tom or Bill were to call each other they would incur both roaming AND long distance calls. This is because neither call had an origin or destination inside of the calling area.

Tom is still in Raleigh and Bill flies down to meet him. When Bills plan lands in Raleigh he calls Tom to tell him where to pick him up. This call would only be a roaming call, not a long distance call. The reason is both the origin and destination were in the same area.