How to find out which mobile carrier someone is with

Forgive me if this is an FAQ...

Many mobile companies offer cheap calls to subscribers on the same
network. Is there a way to find out who someone is with, given the
mobile phone number?

Cheers
Tom

PS: I know I can punch in that number, press the green button and ask
them. Any other suggestions?

WordUP <thomas.voirol@gmail.com> wrote

> Forgive me if this is an FAQ...

Completely unforgivable.

> Many mobile companies offer cheap calls
> to subscribers on the same network.

Not that many now.

> Is there a way to find out who someone
> is with, given the mobile phone number?

Nope.

> PS: I know I can punch in that number,
> press the green button and ask them.

Even that wont always work, many of those
who answer the call wont even know.

> Any other suggestions?

Make a call to that number, see if it gets charged at the cheap rate.

Bit of a problem with Optarse because you
have to wait most of a month to find that out.

> Is there a way to find out who someone is with, given the
> mobile phone number?
> I know I can punch in that number, press the green button and ask
> them. Any other suggestions?

Not useful in all cases, but if you've received SMS from that person,
check the sending SMSC (message centre) number - you should be able to
identify the carrier from that number.
http://www.aca.gov.au/pls/numb/

Should work if your el-cheapo rate is to a *carrier* (eg Optus 'yes'
Time works to all Optus GSM, including resellers), but probably won't
be of use to you if the cheap rate is to a subset of that carrier's
subscribers (eg calls to Telstra PP+, or calls to Optus Pre-Paid).