Dialing for Dollars - Brief Article - Statistical Data Included

Careers and Colleges, March, 2000 by Cindy Alexander

Find the best money-saving phone plan for you.

Today, choosing a phone service is harder than ever. Dozens of telecommunication companies are competing to win your business. The days of lining up for the dorm pay phones on Sunday night to call home collect have pretty much disappeared as phone companies offer low rates and extend attractive bonuses such as frequent flyer miles, free calls, and even cold hard cash to get you to sign up with them for their long distance services. If you're going to college, your school may make the choice easy by providing its own inexpensive phone service. The key is knowing your options and finding what suits you best.

GETTING A DIAL TONE

The first step in establishing your own telephone service is to sign up with a local service provider. You'll probably have a choice between two or more companies, or your college may specify which one it uses. Find out what services each company offers (e.g., call waiting, caller ID) and at what prices. Check the costs for required advance payments (which can cost $50 to $60), installation fees, (which can range from $35 to $50), and additional jacks ($75 to more than $200).

Once your service starts, you'll pay a monthly service charge--$10 to $20--that will vary according to where you live and which special features you order. In addition to the monthly fee, you may have to pay for a certain number of calls and for services such as 911.

LONG DISTANCE RUN-AROUND

When you sign up for local service, you'll be asked which long distance carrier you want to use. Most of us are familiar with the big names in long distance--AT&T, Sprint, and MCI-- but lots of other long distance companies service different parts of the U.S. (Note: On October 5, 1999, MCI WorldCom and Sprint announced their agreement to merge. At press time, they were still awaiting the necessary approvals.) Check the yellow pages to find out which companies provide long distance coverage in your area.

Be sure to ask about calling plans. "Some people don't realize that they may nor be on a calling plan, and they may be paying higher rates than they have to," says Catherine Goodson, a spokesperson for Sprint.

To determine which plan is right for you, analyze your calling patterns:

* Do you make most of your long distance calls during the day or at night?

* Do you call on weekdays or on weekends?

* Are most of your calls to in-state out-of-state numbers?

* Do you call mostly from home or away from home?

Telling the sales representative the answers to these questions can help you get the plan that serves you best. Then carefully compare services that companies offer. (See the chart on the next page.)

THE COLLEGE CONNECTION

Choosing a long distance service may nor be an issue if you attend a school that is contracted with a long distance carrier to handle long distance services in the dorms. For example, at Radford University, in Virginia, students who sign up for the school's service pay between 11 and 25 cents per minute for long distance calls. Rates vary according to time of call. Students are assigned a personal identification number (PIN) to ensure accurate billing.

"Basically, it saves money for the parents by nor having to pay installation charges or monthly charges," says Gail Stephens, telephone services manager at Radford. "Students only pay for long distance calls."

The benefits of utilizing a school's long distance service include on-campus billing and customer service, says Jeri Semer, executive director of ACUTA, the Association for College and University Telecommunications Administrators. "Schools have larger buying power than an individual, so they're often able to negotiate better long distance rates."

CALLING CARDS

Jamie Jerauld, a freshman at Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau, signed up for her school's long distance service, but she prefers to make calls with the prepaid calling card she bought at a store.

"I like using the calling card because it keeps me aware," Jerauld says. "I'm a lot more conscious of how many minutes I use."

Prepaid calling cards are sold in numbers of minutes (e.g., 30, 60, or 120). Rates generally range from 10 to 33 cents per minute. As you talk on the phone, you gradually use up all the minutes. When your minutes are up, you can either "recharge" your old card or buy a new one. Prepaid cards are sold at discount department stores, electronics stores, and other retail outlets, as well as on the Internet.

To recharge your card, call the customer service phone number listed on the back of the card. The additional minutes will be charged to your credit card.

Non-prepaid calling cards are like credit cards for phone calls and are available directly from the telephone company. With calling cards, you talk for as long and as often as you like and are billed each month.

With either type of card, make sure you understand the terms. For example, will you have to pay a monthly service charge? Does the company charge a connection fee (an extra fee over and above the per-minute rate.)