What is the reliability of Wifi Calling on public Wifi (overseas experience)

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scottjpalmer

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#2004172 28-Apr-2018 16:40

AKT by using WiFi calling on say your hotel WiFi network in Europe you don't pay the roaming calls cost, you "pay" what you would if you were in NZ which on plans with included minutes means you don't pay anything. Unless of course you call a Europe number.

AKT

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#2004177 28-Apr-2018 16:58

scottjpalmer: AKT by using WiFi calling on say your hotel WiFi network in Europe you don't pay the roaming calls cost, you "pay" what you would if you were in NZ which on plans with included minutes means you don't pay anything. Unless of course you call a Europe number.

Thank you for clarifying - this was why I had put "unless 2d charge differently from other carriers..." as my previous experience of wifi calling meant if you were roaming, you'd still be charged for roaming.

KiwiSurfer

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#2004256 28-Apr-2018 20:08

AKT:

scottjpalmer: AKT by using WiFi calling on say your hotel WiFi network in Europe you don't pay the roaming calls cost, you "pay" what you would if you were in NZ which on plans with included minutes means you don't pay anything. Unless of course you call a Europe number.

Thank you for clarifying - this was why I had put "unless 2d charge differently from other carriers..." as my previous experience of wifi calling meant if you were roaming, you'd still be charged for roaming.

The fact is simple: Carriers only charge roaming charges for cellular calls made through their international roaming partners. The charges that appear on your bill (or deducted from your prepay balance) for roaming will be based on data provided by the foreign network. Therefore I suspect you are mistaken in regards to your "previous experience". Perhaps the call actually went via cellular (and thus via the foreign network resulting in the roaming charges) rather than wifi for some reason.

AKT

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#2004291 28-Apr-2018 20:47

KiwiSurfer:
AKT:

scottjpalmer: AKT by using WiFi calling on say your hotel WiFi network in Europe you don't pay the roaming calls cost, you "pay" what you would if you were in NZ which on plans with included minutes means you don't pay anything. Unless of course you call a Europe number.

Thank you for clarifying - this was why I had put "unless 2d charge differently from other carriers..." as my previous experience of wifi calling meant if you were roaming, you'd still be charged for roaming.

The fact is simple: Carriers only charge roaming charges for cellular calls made through their international roaming partners. The charges that appear on your bill (or deducted from your prepay balance) for roaming will be based on data provided by the foreign network. Therefore I suspect you are mistaken in regards to your "previous experience". Perhaps the call actually went via cellular (and thus via the foreign network resulting in the roaming charges) rather than wifi for some reason.

Not mistaken at all - T mobile EE Vodafone Uk & AU, Optus and Telstra either don’t allow roaming with WiFi or charge you for it like a cellular call. 2D is different from all of the above as Scott kindly pointed out.

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SaltyNZ

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#2004422 29-Apr-2018 10:07

AKT:

Unless 2d do wifi calling in a different way from other carriers, it's not a method of cheap roaming - you will be charged the same as if you were on a cellular call.

We do indeed do it differently, so it IS a method of cheap roaming. You will pay whatever you would have paid in New Zealand to dial that same number, including free if that's what your pack or plan would normally provide.

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These comments are my own and do not represent the opinions of 2degrees.

KiwiSurfer

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#2004511 29-Apr-2018 12:48

AKT:

Not mistaken at all - T mobile EE Vodafone Uk & AU, Optus and Telstra either don’t allow roaming with WiFi or charge you for it like a cellular call. 2D is different from all of the above as Scott kindly pointed out.

Just did a bit of research into EE UK (as I have a EE UK SIM so was interested to see how it works with them) and it seems they geolock their Wifi Calling feature to UK IP addresses only. This means calling abroad will not work on Wifi. I suspect I have guessed correctly that the phone call had gone through via the usual (non-Wifi) method and thus it is not surprising at all that roaming charges were incurred. I assume this happens the other carriers you mention as well.

You point out that 2degrees don't do this which is a great advantage for overseas travelers. :)

richms

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#2004563 29-Apr-2018 13:52

So what happens if the people in the UK get on a wifi network with an exit that is not in the UK geo databases? Do people get warned at all or just get charged roaming costs despite being in the UK?

Richard rich.ms

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