Not pure nostalgia from the 2000s: the cheap call-by-call area codes still exist and offer those who use them many savings advantages when making calls. But how does the system work today?
It was THE telephone trend in the early 2000s: With the so-called low-cost area codes, also known as call-by-call or call-through, you could save significantly on calls at home and abroad with a special combination of numbers. Because of the additional area code, the call no longer went through the usual telephone provider.
The legislator originally introduced this procedure in 1998 in order to prevent the monopoly position of Deutsche Telekom and to offer users alternative tariffs. What a lot of people don’t know: the cheap area codes still exist today. TECHBOOK introduces you to the somewhat tricky system and shows you how you can still save a lot of money when making calls today.
Also read: A new law fundamentally changes telephony
This is how call-by-call works
Telekom is the only company in Germany to offer call-by-call. As a customer, you can only use it to make cheaper calls from the fixed network, but you can make domestic, international and mobile phone calls. In principle, call by call is available everywhere. The only exception are localities where the company has not laid its own lines and therefore has to rent them from other operators.
The following infographic illustrates exactly how call by call works. It is also worth noting that until the telecommunications laws were changed in 2012, call-by-call providers were not obliged to inform you of the applicable tariff by announcement. While users used to run the risk of unknowingly incurring enormous costs, you are now always informed in advance of what the next call will cost you. The call will then be billed to the normal phone bill.
Also read: 4 tips to save money when making international calls
The claim remains
You can find out which area code is best for your purposes in the comparison portal Check from billiger-telefonieren.de. Especially abroad, call by call can make a difference of more than one euro per minute. Even if Telekom is increasingly using All-IP connections instead of analog and ISDN, the legal regulation still stipulates that the company must provide call-by-call after more than 20 years.
The regulation was recently extended. There should also be primaries in the coming years, Deutsche Telekom and the competitor association VATM agreed on this in a joint statement in June 2022. Call-by-call will therefore continue until the end of 2024. The same applies to the possibility of making permanent calls via another provider (preselection).
If you are not a Telekom customer, you cannot use Call by Call. Other providers do not have this option because they have not been legally obliged to do so. The callthrough principle is more suitable for this, especially for mobile phone users.
Callthrough in detail
With callthrough, you are not tied to a landline, but can call anywhere from any device. In principle, the procedure works in a similar way to call by call, but has a few special features that you should consider and assess for your purposes. Here you must first dial a dial-in number, where you will then be connected to a free line and then dial the actual number.
Certain phone providers prohibit the use of callthrough within their terms and conditions. Since you are making calls here via the telephone computer of a call-through provider and not via your contractual one, the companies want to counteract huge savings with the ban.
If your provider allows callthrough, you can consider which payment model you want to use. For one-off calls, prepaid with top-up credit is ideal. For frequent calls rather postpaid with billing via the normal phone bill.
Also interesting: With these providers, you can make the cheapest calls outside the EU
avoid cost traps
Lastly, you should pay attention to which callthrough number is the best for you. On the comparison portals, you not only find out which provider offers the cheapest price for your interests. It is also listed here whether he also has a tariff announcement. This is crucial for callthrough, since the prices are constantly changing and can vary greatly.
Also, the cheapest provider is not always the most reliable or the one with the best quality. You should therefore always consider whether a normal call would be cheaper in the case in question. In other cases, however, you can save a lot of money with callthrough.