Does it seem as though your phone bills have been increasing, even if your long-distance calling patterns haven't changed dramatically? If so, it's likely because the telecommunications industry has been reeling in recent years because overbuilding, crippling debt and bad management. Your carrier may be imposing additional fees and service charges or raising rates in an effort to make up lost revenue. Consider the following tips.
By LAURA T. COFFEY
Published August 17, 2003
1. How do you use your phone? Before you can reduce your costs, it's important to understand your phone-usage patterns. That will make it easier for you to eliminate redundant services, such as an extra landline if you've recently purchased a cell phone.
2. Follow the money. Pull out the communications bills you've received over the past three months - local and long-distance phone service, wireless phone service and Internet access. You may be shocked to see how much you're paying for redundant services, fees and service charges.
3. As you examine your bills, calculate the average number of minutes of local, long-distance and wireless services used monthly, paying careful attention to the time of day when you make most of your calls. A calling plan that offers lower rates on nights and weekends may be right for you.
4. Opt for outside help. You can order worksheets from the Telecommunications Research & Action Center, a nonprofit advocacy group P.O. Box 27279, Washington, D.C., 20005; www.trac.org) for $7 by e-mail or $6 by regular mail. TRAC breaks down plans by calling patterns so you can see which long-distance carriers offer the best deals for you.
5. Consider prepaid calling cards. If you don't make long-distance calls very often, it may be best to buy a prepaid calling card and cancel your long-distance service altogether. That way you'll avoid monthly minimums, access charges and extra taxes.
6. Don't make directory assistance calls. The charges for such calls have soared to the $2 range. Find the numbers you need for free by using the phone book or these Web sites: www.switchboard.comwww.smartpages.com and www.infospace.com
7. Bundle up. Major carriers are offering packages that bundle customers' long-distance and local plans, and sometimes their cell and DSL Internet access, too. By giving all your phone-usage time to one carrier, you can be categorized as a high-volume user and have your charges reduced.
8. Use your wireless service wisely. If you have a cell phone with a plan that features low-cost or free long-distance minutes at certain times, always use those up before making long-distance calls on your landline.
9. Check out resellers of phone service. You can find long-distance rates for as low as 2.5 cents per minute from resellers such as OneSuite Corp. (www.onesuite.com) Capsule Communications (www.capsulecom.com) and PowerNetGlobal Communications (www.powernet-global.com)
10. Make calls via the Internet. If you have a high-speed connection, this can be a great way for you to save. You typically have to call from one computer to another, but not always. The company Vonage (www.vonage.com) offers unlimited local and national long-distance calls for $40 a month using a regular telephone after you pay a $30 activation fee.
