Incoming call charges from the United States

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Salome
Salome Posts: 14 ✭✭

Good afternoon. My plan includes unlimited calls in the US and Canada. I wonder if US numbers calling me in Canada will be charged international fees?

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  • Fizzy
    Fizzy Posts: 10,930 ✭✭
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    @Salome , unfortunately only the person calling you and their cell provider can answer your last question.

    As long as their cell plan includes calling to Canada, they will not incur any additional charges for calling your number. The key here is whether the area code (i.e. your area code) they are calling is included in their plan or not.


    And since you have a Fizz plan with Canada/US coverage, you can receive such calls at no additional cost to you as long as you are in your coverage area (Canada/USA, but not Puerto Rico).

    In any case, you can also call their USA number as calls to USA and Canadian numbers are included with your plan.

    And if your plan includes SMS, you can text to any number world-wide.


    @Idefizz , I hope above also answers your questions. If you visit Alberta and your friend from Alberta calls you, they are still calling your Quebec number. So it's the same charge(s) for them regardless if you are in Alberta or back home.

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  • Fizzy
    Fizzy Posts: 10,930 ✭✭
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    Hi @Salome


    As Fizz is prepaid, there are no surprise charges.

    If you're within your coverage area (Canada and US), you will be able to receive calls from anyone / any where.


    However do take note of Fizz's partner policy here: https://fizz.ca/en/faq/partner-networks

    "The majority of your usage (calls, texts and data) must be done on the Fizz network (Subscription area).

    We reserve the right to interrupt or block access to our network of partner providers Fizz EXT if you use your mobile service primarily on their networks for 3 consecutive payment cycles."

  • Salome
    Salome Posts: 14 ✭✭
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    Many thanks! Yes Canada and US are in my coverage area, which means that people calling me will not be charged extra, from what I understand?

  • Idefizz
    Idefizz Posts: 2,999 ✭✭
    edited March 2021
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    No international fees for YOU except if the call comes from Puerto Rico .

    Hawaii and Alaska are included in the Canada + U.S. coverage area, but not Puerto Rico (that destination is included in the Latin America zone in the Add-ons).

    Source: https://fizz.ca/en/faq/subscription-area-and-coverage-area

    This presumes:

    • you ARE in Canada but in the coverage zone (pink zone in this map ↗️)
    • you have minutes for you to be able to answer.
    • you plan is active


  • Fizzy
    Fizzy Posts: 10,930 ✭✭
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    @Salome , when others call you, the charges they might incur will depend on the plan they have with their current provider. Are they also with Fizz mobile?

    @Idefizz , Salome is asking about incoming calls. As long as Salome is in Canada/US (and not in Puerto Rico), the calls are included in his plan.

  • Salome
    Salome Posts: 14 ✭✭
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    @Fizzy - they are not with Fizz mobile. You are correct in that I am asking about charges for incoming calls (and texts).

  • Idefizz
    Idefizz Posts: 2,999 ✭✭
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    Yeah @Fizzy I realized the nuance after the 15 minutes editing period. My bad 😔. Tried to research more on the topic until your reply.

    But about the charges the caller might have to pay. And I know you know more than many of us here, so bear with me and allow me the following use case to better understand: if a Fizz member with a Canada-only-plan does a 2 week visits to a friend living in Alberta, would that friend have to worry about paying fees when calling that Fizz member while in Alberta? To me the logic is that the moment a Fizz client pays+travels in the coverage area, anyone from that same area should not worry about extra fees.

    So in other words, is the following statement correct? If your caller lives in and calls you from the coverage area (pink) you actually pay for (and travel within), then your caller should not worry about extra fees from his/her service provider.

    If I'm wrong then the other use case would seem quite surprising (to me) : if you pay+stay for Quebec-only coverage, someone living in Tadoussac or Gaspé (which are pink) cannot call you without paying extra fees.

  • Salome
    Salome Posts: 14 ✭✭
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    Sorry to bother you again, so people in the US, not with Fizz mobile would likely be charged international calling fees when they call me?

  • Idefizz
    Idefizz Posts: 2,999 ✭✭
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    You are definitely not bothering us. It is a real and valid question that is not explicitly answered in the FAQ (and even then, don't hesitate to ask questions).

    And my use cases imply (so admittedly not specify) that the caller is not a Fizz member (in which scenarios would be a moot point IMHO).

  • Idefizz
    Idefizz Posts: 2,999 ✭✭
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    Thanks @Fizzy 🌞

  • Salome
    Salome Posts: 14 ✭✭
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    Thank you!!!

  • Zenthar
    Zenthar Posts: 517 ✭✭
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    If you want people from the US to be able to call you without any fees to them, you'd need to have at least a US phone number, perhaps even a toll free number (ex: 1-800 or similar), both of which Fizz doesn't provide, but I believe you could get from voip providers such as voip.ms. Toll free numbers for such services cost slightly more than regular ones (1$ per month for the number and 1.9¢ per minute vs 0.85$ per month and 0.9¢ per minute for a regular one). Voip also require additional setup which not everyone is willing to deal with.

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