Long-Distance Deals

Advice for consumers in search of the best long-distance deal:

Look back over a few months and evaluate your long-distance bills. “Get an idea whether you call one number heavily, or call one area heavily,” says Bradley Stillman, legislative counsel specializing in telecommunications at the Consumer Federation of America. “You’ll do better under some plans than under others, though probably it’s going to be only a marginal difference.”

Take advantage of marketing tactics such as offers of cash if you’re willing to change carriers. “I just got one from AT&T offering me a check for $25,” says Stillman. “My fiancee got $75 because she’s a heavier user. You can play them off of each other to your own benefit.”

Companies such as the Long Distance Wholesale Club are resellers who buy long-distance capacity in bulk from a major carrier at a special rate and then resell it using their own discount plans. There are 396 resellers.

Tom Cirrito, LDWC’s president, says its members save 10-30 percent off the big three’s rates. “No hassle, no risk, no obligation,” he says.

Resellers can offer savings but they aren’t always the cheapest rates, according to the Telecommunications Research & Action Center’s cost comparisons. And Cirrito confirms he “doesn’t compete” with Sprint Sense, for instance, or the other big-three discount plans.

Samuel A. Simon, counsel to TRAC, says his group soon will publish its newest Teletips Residential Longdistance Comparison Chart, available at cost ($3) from TRAC, P.O. Box 12038, Washington D.C. 20005.

“Having choices is always somewhat more difficult than not having choices,” the Consumer Federation’s Bradley Stillman reminds consumers who feel perplexed. “But the odds are you’re going to get the benefit from those choices. For those who want to get their bill down as low as absolutely possible, they should be able to do it. And that’s what competition in the marketplace is all about.”

xxxx