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10 Tips: Dial up some help with your phone bill

A few years ago, the options for reducing your local and long-distance phone bills were nothing like they are today. These tips can help you determine the best way to lower your phone costs, depending on your circumstances and needs.

By Laura T. Coffey, Times Correspondent
Published October 21, 2007

A few years ago, the options for reducing your local and long-distance phone bills were nothing like they are today. These tips can help you determine the best way to lower your phone costs, depending on your circumstances and needs.

1 Reflect on your calling patterns. Do you make lots of long-distance calls? How many special services - caller ID, call waiting and three-way calling - have you come to rely on? Study one or two recent phone bills.

2 Make your calls via the Internet. If you have a high-speed Internet connection, you stand to save up to $400 a year by using Voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP, to make the bulk of your calls. For about $20 to $25 a month, you can score unlimited calling through Vonage (www.vonage.com, Packet8 (www.packet8.net) and phone and cable companies that offer VoIP services. Another over-the-Internet provider, Skype (www.skype.com), offers ultra-low-cost services.

3 Go wireless. Cut your landline and use your cell phone for all calls. Make sure that your cell plan gives enough national, any-time minutes and that you get good reception at home.

4 Prepare for emergencies. Make sure 911 operators know how to find you if you opt for the all-Internet or all-wireless approaches. If you're making calls over the Internet, give your phone service provider your address.

5 Pay a flat fee for unlimited calls. You can keep your landline and opt for unlimited, bundled long-distance and local service from a single provider. Expect to pay $35 to $55 plus taxes each month for this service.

6 Consider a phone card. If you don't make very many long-distance calls on your landline, a prepaid long-distance card can help you save. You'll have to punch in a whole bunch of numbers, but it can be worth it if you find a card that gets you 3.5 cents to 4 cents a minute for U.S. calls.

7 Do some quick comparison shopping online. Check www.ABTolls.com and ComparePhoneRates.com to compare prices for a variety of long-distance plans, cellular plans and phone cards.

8 If you have a low or fixed income, get help. Tap into programs that make it easier to afford a telephone hook-up and the price of basic phone service. The Link-Up Florida program provides a 50 percent rebate (up to $30) toward installation. The Lifeline Assistance program offers a credit of $13.50 a month for local phone bills.

9 Determine your eligibility. You're eligible for these programs if you get state or federal help from: Temporary Cash Assistance; food stamps; Medicaid; Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP); Supplemental Security Income (SSI); Federal Public Housing Assistance (Section 8); or the free lunch program. You're eligible if your annual household income is less than $13,784 for one person, $18,482 for two people, $23,180 for three people or $27,878 for four people.

10 Know how to sign up. Call your local phone company and ask for help, or call the Florida Office of Public Counsel toll-free at 1-800-540-7039. You also can print out applications from www.floridapsc.com/utilities/telecomm/lifeline/.

Laura T. Coffey (laura@tentips.org)

Sources: AARP (www.aarp.org); Florida Public Service Commission (www.floridapsc.com); Consumer Reports (www.consumerreports.org)

[Last modified October 19, 2007, 22:09:28]