Identifying which mobile network your calling

Diglea

Does anyone know of a website where you can simply enter the mobile number (or prefix) your dialling & it will tell you which network your calling?
i.e in order to know how much your paying for the call.
Similarly any website that will tell you the location of the number for landlines.

gizmoleeds

http://www.ukphoneinfo.com/section/tci/locator.shtml

Will do both. However, a mobile which has been 'ported' (the number moved from one network to another) will still show (incorrectly) as being on the original network.

(eg. If I took my number from T-Mobile to Orange and you searched it would say T-Mobile).

There is no way around this however, and it is right 90% of the time.

Heinz

gizmoleeds wrote:

http://www.ukphoneinfo.com/section/tci/locator.shtml

Will do both. However, a mobile which has been 'ported' (the number moved from one network to another) will still show (incorrectly) as being on the original network.

Although, from the call cost point of view (which was the OP's concern), that is irrelevant - calls are charged at the rate applicable to the original network.

gizmoleeds

Heinz wrote:

Although, from the call cost point of view (which was the OP's concern), that is irrelevant - calls are charged at the rate applicable to the original network.

I was told that if you port a number it would be charged at "other network" rates by all networks, but have since been told this is no longer the case and the networks will charge properly depending on the real network.

I don't know if it is true though.

BT I believe do still charge at original network rates though.

Heinz

gizmoleeds wrote:

I was told that if you port a number it would be charged at "other network" rates by all networks, but have since been told this is no longer the case and the networks will charge properly depending on the real network.

That would mean each network having to maintain minute-by-minute (real time) information on porting of all mobile numbers. I can't imagine them wanting to go to that expense or, for that matter, it being possible to keep up-to-date.

gizmoleeds

Heinz wrote:

That would mean each network having to maintain minute-by-minute (real time) information on porting of all mobile numbers. I can't imagine them wanting to go to that expense or, for that matter, it being possible to keep up-to-date.

Like I said, that's just what I heard - it's not gospel. Although this website appears to back it up:

http://www.mobileshop.org/buyguide/portcharges.htm

All mobile networks will know what numbers are on their own network. They will need to access this information before a call anyway to know whether or not it is going over their own signals and antennae or another network's.

bbb_uk

Heinz wrote:

That would mean each network having to maintain minute-by-minute (real time) information on porting of all mobile numbers. I can't imagine them wanting to go to that expense or, for that matter, it being possible to keep up-to-date.

I believe they do this anyhow simply because of the way the porting works and how the corresponding charges work.

I explained on sayno recently here which may help explain how it works but basically each network must keep a record of any number that was on their network that has now ported. This is why BT has no idea which network you are calling (assuming it's been ported) hence reason why BT charge for the call as if it was on the network it was originally allocated to.

loobs40

I work for a Mobile company in the billing area. If you port your number from network A to network B, you will be charged as a network B customer regardless of what your number looks like

Heinz

[font=&quot][/font]My head's beginning to hurt now Kev but, if I'm reading you correctly, a caller is charged by his line (or mobile) provider according to what the call would have cost in its original incarnation (i.e. if I called an 07905 number from my Orange mobile, Orange would charge me as if I was calling a Virgin mobile even if it has been ported and is now a Vodafone mobile).

So, although each mobile network (obviously) keeps track of the numbers operating on its own network, that information is not shared with the other mobile operators or with the plethora of landline service providers so the easy (in fact, the only sensible) option is to charge for a call according to a number's original 'identity'.

bbb_uk

It is confusing I admit but oftel (before ofcom) thought that having a database that could be updated by any teleco where their customer leaves them and ports their number to another telco was way too expensive so they stuck with a database that isn't updatable and each carrier is responsible for any calls received that they forward on to the network the mobile is on.

Landline providers always charge for calls to mobiles based on what the original network the number was allocated to regardless of how many times numbers are ported simply because they do not know which network the mobile number is now on.

I think its trickier with mobile networks. If you were an orange customer and ported your number to o2 then a friend/family on orange ringing your now o2 number I believe are charged xnet rates because orange obviously know the number is no longer with them and as they have to pay for the call to be passed on to the network it was ported to (o2 in this case), they try and recoup this cost by charging xnet rates (which is technically correct).

Now an orange customer that has ported over to o2 and a friend/family that is on o2 rings you will be charged same network rates. This is because o2 check their database and realise the number your friend is ringing is (albeit eventually) is on o2. A while ago o2 did charge xnet rates for ringing another o2 customer that had ported from another network (ie orange). They stopped this simply because they were the only ones to charge this way as the other networks never bothered and swallowed the costs involved.

Has that explained it better?

Heinz

bbb_uk wrote:

Has that explained it better?

Yes thanks (but I give up anyway).