On 14/06/2012 12:31, Roland Perry wrote:

In message , at 11:41:38 on Thu, 14 Jun
2012, Mizter T remarked:
The cost to me of subsidising callers is a fixed mnthly rental, and
incoming calls are free.

The cost to others of subsidising me not having a landline varies, but
is normally an extra cost per minute on the calls (to my mobile).

If they have a contract UK mobile with inclusive minutes (or a PAYG
plan that offers something similar), then calling from their mobile to
yours wouldn't incur extra expense. That's an *if* though, and there
are other factors such as availability of decent mobile reception for
both the calling and called parties.

The callers I have in mind are from landlines, often not in the UK.

Even inclusive minutes aren't "free" if they exceed the monthly amount
by calling me, and their calls to everyone else suddenly become
40p/minute (or whatever).

Or were you thinking they might, by complete co-incidence, be on the
same mobile provider as me and have unlimited minutes?

No, I was thinking what I was saying. Yes, exceeding inclusive minutes
costs. (Though for those who do use a lot of inclusive minutes, many
contract plans now come with inclusive talk time in abundance - but no,
I don't make the assumption this is an option that is either available
to everyone or suits everyone.)

I absolutely agree that a landline is particularly useful when it comes
to receiving (conventional) calls from abroad.