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International Phone Charges to local German friends

Posted by on

Hello,
My daughters are visiting Germany this summer and would like to
take advantage of their current (included)T Mobile USA international
plan. The plan includes free incoming/outgoing texts and 1GB data,
and charges a lower roaming rate for incoming/outgoing calls in/from
Simple Choice countries.

My question is this: will a German friend who receives a text
from my daughters' phones (using USA T Mobile) incur extra
roaming charges for receiving such calls or text messages?

I am looking for a general rule of thumb, if it exists. I imagine all German carriers have
different policies. We are also contacting our German friends to check on their
phone carrier policies, but we would like to avoid causing all our friends and businesses to
incur roaming charges on our account. :) Pardon me if this is a silly question. I have been unable
to find the answer from anyone, including T Mobile.

Posted by
11294 posts

Cell phone plans in Europe (including Germany) never charge for receiving calls or texts, as long as the person is in the home country of the plan. In other words, if you have a German cell plan and you are in Germany, receiving a text or call from Germany, the US, Mozambique, or anywhere else is free. It's similar to US land lines - no matter where a call is from, picking up a call in the US doesn't cost any extra.

If her friend in Germany has a plan from another country, then the rates would depend on that exact plan's terms for roaming in Germany.

Your daughter will have to call or text her German friend as an international call - make sure she knows how to do that. The formula from a cell phone is +, then 49, then the number (without the initial zero). To get a + sign, you usually hold the 0 key.

Similarly, her friend will have to call her as an international call. If her cell phone number is (456) 987-6543, her friend would dial +1-456-987-6543 (without the dashes).

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