| Tips
on locating the Telephone Company
with the best service. |
| |
| ACCESS
CODES |
Some
companies will give you the cheap
rate only after you dial a special
code, which can be long. It can
be hard to remember the access
code each time you wish to place
a long distance call! If you don’t
like access codes, look for companies
that offer Direct Dial Services.
|
| AUTO-PAY |
Some companies
offer to automatically charge
your credit card at the end of
each billing cycle. By choosing
auto-pay, you will save on stamps
and monthly fees. If you are not
sure if you like auto-pay or not,
look for a provider that offers
both – paper bills and electronic
bills, so you could decide later
what works best for you.
|
| BILLING
INCREMENTS |
As a general rule,
the smaller the billing increments,
the cheaper the call, especially
if you tend to make short calls.
(Do you ever find yourself making
a long distance call to find that
the person you are trying to reach
is not available?)
Although one company may charge
higher rates per minute than another,
you can save money if it has shorter
billing increments.
A billing increment is the
minimum call time charged for.
For instance: if the call-rate
is 4.5¢ a minute, charged
in 6 second billing increments,
you are effectively paying less
than a penny (only 0.45¢)
for every 6 seconds of talk
time. The chart below illustrates
this point.
Company Rate Billing Increment
Length of call Cost of call
A 4.5¢ 6 seconds 12 seconds
$0.009
B 4.5¢ 60 seconds 12 seconds
$0.045
|
| CUSTOMER-SERVICE |
When you sign
up with a company you want to
be assured that they will be there
for you when you need them. You
surely know the feeling of being
desperate for help, dialing the
number for a support line, waiting
endlessly for someone to pick
up your call and then not getting
the help you need. Try to find
a long distance phone company
that prides itself in its customer
service. Check that they offer
toll-free service and have long
hours. They will not keep you
waiting on the phone when you
call them with a problem and will
usually be very polite and helpful.
|
| DIRECT-DIAL |
Companies offering
direct-dial are offering you their
cheap rates even if you dial your
destination number directly without
pre-fixing with an ACCESS NUMBER.
|
| FIBER-OPTIC
LINES |
Some cheap long
distance phone companies use Internet
lines which means you’ll
get the old fashioned echoing,
crackling and unclear sound when
talking to your loved ones, making
it a frustrating instead of an
exciting moment. Fiber-optic lines
are landlines with an advanced
connection which will never crackle,
echo or cut you off mid conversation,
it’s worth getting these
even if the rates are slightly
higher, you won't find yourself
having to keep calling back, incurring
more charges each time.
|
| INTRASTATE
(or Intra-lata) |
This refers to
rates for calls originating and
having a destination in the same
state, but outside the local coverage
area as defined by the local service
provider. Since these rates differ
between states, some long-distance
phone companies like to hide them.
Always look for an ‘intrastate
rate list’ and check it
for rates applying to your state.
|
| INTERNATIONAL |
This refers to
rates for calls originating in
the United States with a destination
abroad. International rates differ
between destination countries.
If your long distance calls are
mostly to family members in a
particular country abroad, look
out for phone-companies advertising
cheap rates for that destination
and check out the ‘International
rates list’ for the country
you call most often.
|
| MONTHLY
FEE |
Some long distance
service providers charge you every
month to cover billing costs.
Look out for these fees which
are between $2.00 and $5.00 a
month and take it into account
when comparing plans. With some
companies, the monthly fee won’t
affect you if your total bill
exceeds a certain amount or if
you sign-up for autopay. Look
out for companies that offer this
– it will save you money.
|
| OFFSHORE |
Off shore rates
refer to rates for calls originating
in the continental United States
with a destination in one of America’s
offshore states. Such destinations
include Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto-Rico
and the Virgin Islands. These
places will probably not be listed
in the INTERNATIONAL list of destinations.
|
| Contiguous
State-to-State |
Most advertised
rates are for Contiguous State-to-State
calls. This refers to rates for
calls placed in one state with
a destination in another. These
rates are usually consistent across
the United States. Watch out –
just because a company advertises
their Contiguous State-to-State
rate as cheap doesn’t mean
it is. Always compare between
providers.
|
| TOLL-FREE
SERVICE |
This is one service
some select calling companies
offer that proves to be useful
time and again.
If you sign up for toll-free service
you will be issued a toll-free
number for your home line, enabling
family members to call you without
having to fumble for change each
time. You pay for the call at
the same long-distance rates as
calls from your home telephone.
Some companies offer you to pick
your very own toll-free number,
so you can pick something easy
for everybody to remember and
nobody will forget your number
again leaving no excuse for not
staying in touch.
|
