Overage charges are incurred when a
mobile phone
A mobile phone or cell phone is a portable telephone that allows users to make and receive calls over a radio frequency link while moving within a designated telephone service area, unlike fixed-location phones ( landline phones). This rad ...
(cellphone) is used for more time than the quota fixed under a post-payment plan.
Payment plans and overage charges
Billing for
mobile phones
A mobile phone or cell phone is a portable telephone that allows users to make and receive calls over a radio frequency link while moving within a designated telephone service area, unlike fixed-location phones ( landline phones). This radio ...
can take the form of either a pre-paid plan or a post-paid plan. In a pre-paid plan, the cell phone user pays for the minutes before using them. This kind of plan is popular in many
Asia
Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...
n,
South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...
n, and some
Europe
Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
an countries.
In post-paid plans, the cell phone user pays at the end of the month for the minutes used during that month. Post-paid plans are common in
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...
and are catching up in other countries. The
cell phone providers (that is, the wireless carriers) typically charge a monthly fee for the post-paid plans. In turn, users get a monthly quota of minutes. When a user goes over the minutes allowed under the particular post-paid cell phone plan, they are charged separately for the extra minutes. In North America, this fee for the extra minutes is called ''overage fees'' or ''overage charges''.
For example, suppose that a mobile phone user signs up for a post-paid cell phone plan that costs $40 per month and is allowed a quota of 700 minutes under that plan. If this user were to end up using 750 minutes in a month, then they would be charged an overage fee for the extra 50 minutes.
Mobile networks may offer the ability to check how much of a quota has been used, or users may sign up to third-party monitoring services. Overage charges are being phased out by some major providers.
Overage charges in
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
In
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
as of 2015, most post-paid cell phone plans are (for calls within
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
) either true flat rates (monthly rates between 17
and 40 EUR, depending on how much data and how many SMS are included) or include a more limited amount of included minutes (100-200 Minutes), with a modest overage of 7 to 21 Euro-cent per minute. The time of days is not accounted for.
Overage charges in North American countries
North American post-paid cell phone plans typically divide the minutes used in various categories such as peak minutes, evening and night minutes (also called off-peak minutes), weekend minutes, mobile-to-mobile minutes, and so on. The peak minutes also go by the name of "anytime minutes" or "whenever minutes".
The peak minutes allowed under most post-paid plans are usually limited (such as 750 peak minutes allowed in a month for $40 per month) and minutes in all other categories are either free, or come with a large monthly quota (such as 5000 weekend and weeknight minutes). Therefore, in North American countries, the overage charges typically mean "peak overage charges", that is, a cell phone user gets charged separately for the extra peak minutes used in a month.
See also
*
History of mobile phones
*
Mobile phone operator
A mobile phone operator, wireless provider, or carrier is a mobile telecommunications company that provides wireless Internet GSM services for mobile device users. The operator gives a SIM card to the customer who inserts it into the mobile devi ...
References
{{reflist
Mobile telecommunications