Calling A Cell Phone? Check That Prefix Before You Dial

About ready to ring a friend on his/her cell phone because you just can't wait 'til they get to their home or office phone? Before you dial, check and double-check the cell phone users' prefix - and prepare for sticker shock.

You, the caller, could end up paying 45 cents a minute.

How come? US West Cellular is offering a new service, "Calling Party Pays," which will bill folks who call cell phones that have certain new prefixes. Cell phone owners have to subscribe to the "caller pays" service and be assigned an applicable prefix.

The special prefixes are: 375 or 962 in Seattle, 278 in Tacoma, 231 in Everett, and 797 in Auburn.

In area code 509 the prefixes will be 998 in Spokane, 691 in Newport, 690 in Colville, 661 in Wenatchee, and 430 in Omak.

In area code 360, prefixes that generate the special charge will be 589 in Aberdeen; 305, 333, 393 in Bellingham; 870 in Olympia; 477 in Port Angeles; 316 in Port Townsend; 463 in Shelton; 265 in Silverdale; and 839 in Belfair.

And if your call would have generated toll charges, you'll pay 45 cents a minute, plus the applicable long-distance charges.

Ouch!

In the past, cell phone owners paid for airtime for both incoming and outgoing calls. About 85 to 90 percent of the calls on cell phones are outgoing. But incoming calls can run up the owner's cell-phone bill, too.

Businesses have wanted this kind of service, said Lisa Bowersock, US West Cellular spokeswoman, because it gives them more control over cell phones.

There's an insert about the special charges in billings this month from US West Communications, which has entered a billing and collections agreement with US West Cellular, its subsidiary, for "caller pays." It says the charges and new prefixes begin Jan. 1, but that was to give consumers and businesses an early heads-up, Bowersock said. The service will begin in late January.

My recommendation is that you check cell phone numbers so you know what to expect.

Though billing inserts don't say so, this is a one-year trial offer by US West and US West Cellular, according to the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission.

The commission checked with several states that have had similar services since the 1980s, and officials elsewhere said there were few complaints, according to Pat Dutton, WUTC consumer affairs manager.

But the WUTC has asked US West Communications and US West Cellular to track inquiries and complaints.

The commission does not regulate cellular companies, but it does regulate the billing and collection practices of US West Communications.

So far, US West Cellular is the only company offering "caller pays" service here.

New area codes

Speaking of phones, 206-ers should prepare themselves for the same angst consumers in area code 360 have experienced in the past year.

Yup. It's likely to happen sometime in 1997 for some of us in area code 206.

But stop your whining; it won't be as bad. At least now we know that not all phone equipment can handle anything but a zero as the middle number in an area code.

In addition to focus groups, town meetings and public hearings on implementing the new code, the WUTC is considering a random sample of consumers.

Seattle proper could be peeled off to be the "new" 206 area code, with surrounding communities getting new codes. Yes, I said area codes. Plural. One of the great debates will be: Would it be easier to divide into two new area codes now and avoid this process again in a few years, or do it one at a time?

It's also possible that an overlay system will be chosen in which any new phones get the new code(s).

To comment, refer to docket number UT-951381. Call (800) 562-6150, or write WUTC, 1300 S. Evergreen Park Drive S.W., P.O. Box 47250, Olympia 98504-7250.

Shelby Gilje's Troubleshooter column appears Wednesday and Sunday in the Scene section.