Ok, you know the drill... You've just sat down to enjoy your Thursday evening meal. You are about to take your first bite of the meatloaf with mashed potatoes and gravy, when the phone rings. "Good evening Sir and/or Madam" (sometimes they actually say, "Sir and/or Madam")

"Am I speaking with ...?", here your last name is undoubtedly mispronounced from the list it is being read off of. "We are going to make your day by saving you money", they continue, "You like saving money don't you?"

"Yes", you manage to say through the throbbing that has begun at your temples.

"By switching your long distance to our company, we will not only offer you lower rates, but we will give you this free..." and here they insert one of the following; phone card, 20$ check, complete set of steak knives, etc..

Sound familiar? Of course I have embellished a bit, but this conversation, or something similar, happens every day all over the country. It is due to the fact that the long distance industry is such a highly competetive market, that the "Big 3" long distance companies that used to rule the roost, are losing customers left and right. And watch out! One way they will attempt to get these lost dollars back is to raise their existing rates. However, the companies will do just about anything to gain new customers and keep existing ones. The biggest of the three is even offering to pay people to switch to them. That's right, cold hard cash just to change to their service!

By the way, if you ask a telemarketer to "take me off your list", or "put me on your No call list" they are required by law to do so.

Now as a consumer, whether you only call across your county (local toll call), across the nation (out of state toll call), or the world (international toll call), what you look for in a long distance provider is the same: the best quality, best reliability, best customer service, at the best price. Hard to find? Yes, unless you know what to look for and understand how to lower the one utility bill you have the most control over: your phone bill.

First: First carefully examine what type of long distance caller you are. And from that type, find a service that compliments your calling pattern.

1. Low Volume Caller - You don't call long distance more than 3 or 4 times a month. Most of your calls are local.

Solution - Stick with your local carrier since your long distance bill is probably no more than $10-20 per month. However, if you find that your long distance rate is more than 10¢ per minute, you might want to think about using a Dial-Around (a number you dial first that by-passes your carrier) to get a lower rate. Or a re-chargeable Calling Card for those infrequent long distance calls.

2. Medium Volume Caller - You probably have two phone lines, one for a teen, internet access, or fax machine and one for your calls. You might make calling card and occasional international calls. You spend more than $20-40 per month on long distance.

Solution - Pay only for what you will use. In other words, find a long distance provider that offers a low rate with small billing increments (6 or 18 second) and with low or no monthly fee. For those occasional international calls, try a Dial-Around or Calling Card, with no fees on months that have no usage. Get your own in-bound toll free number, so those in the military or college can call you at reduced rates.

3. Heavy Volume Caller - You've got it all!! Local toll calls, regional toll calls, international, cell phone, internet usage through dial-up service, your long distance bill is anywhere from $40 on up to ????

Solution - Try and combine as many of your services under one carrier. For example, you can find a provider that not only offers long distance, but an in-bound toll free number, calling card, internet access all on one bill such as the new flat rate/unlimited toll call plans. But this doesn't always mean lower rates, you may still get a better deal by mixing carriers and billing options ( either paper or email billing). If you are a business, your multiple lines, and high volume often entitle you to huge discounts based on service combination and packages.

Now this article has really only covered the basic calling patterns and I did not go into detail on rate plans, fee and surcharge terms, taxes or billing options. You can find many readily available sources to explain these at your local library, the FCC web site www.fcc.gov, or a qualified telecom consultant web site. What I wanted to convey in this article is that you don't have to be subject to huge utility bills only because there are no other choices and "everyone" pays them. There is one utility bill that YOU control the size, billing frequency and method, and provider: your phone bill.

Take control of it now.
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Author - Gregory D. Hicks
Greg is an independent telecom consultant, based in Sellersville, Pennsylvania. He offers information, rate comparison and resources for residential and commercial consumers. You can visit his web site at www.communicationvalue.com and he may also be reached via e-mail at gh@communicationvalue.com or Toll Free 1-800-737-6508

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