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		AUGUST 17, 1999 Today's debate: Long-distance service Phone firms wage price war,but low rates are deceptive Belgium HotelsInstead of so-called discounts, customers could use honesty. hoteles BucharestMCI WorldCom's announcement last week that it would offer 5-cents-a-minute rates appeared to spark another long-distance price war. AT&T reportedly is looking for ways to compete with that plan, and some industry analysts are talking about 3-cent calls sometime next year. But don't count your: savings just yet. For all the hullabaloo about fierce competition driving down prices for long-distance customers, MCI's nickel phone rate is just the latest in a series of industry gimmicks that too often end up costing customers more, not less, for long-distance calls. While MCI's 5-cent deal every evening and weekend looks awfully tempting, it comes with a $1.95 monthly charge. And the rate during weekdays is a pricey 25 cents a minute. In other words, a typical telephone user could end up paying an effective rate of about 21 cents per minute. That's more than AT&T's average rate of 15 cents back in 1997, according to an analysis by Consumers Union. It found that many consumers would lose money on the MCI deal, since they don't make enough calls to offset the monthly fee. Hidden charges are a problem long-distance customers face generally. Complicated rate plans and monthly fees make comparison shopping nearly impossible and let the industry palm off rate hikes as cuts. AT&T's lowest rates for those who make up to 30 minutes in monthly calls, for instance, have more than doubled since 1991, thanks mainly to monthly service fees, according to an analysis by the Federal Communications Commission Those who make about an hour's worth of calls have seen no savings. In other words, most AT&T customers have either seen rates rise or stay flat. Only extremely frequent callers have realized savings. And long-distance prices overall are up 8% since January 1990. That's just below the price increases charged by local monopoly Bells, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.The situation has raised so much concern that the FCC last month started looking into how these flat fees affect low-volume users, and whether lower long-distance bills are Crossed linesLong-distance competition benefits frequent callers, but not necessarily those who make fewer long-distance calls. Here are the best average rates (cents per minute) available from AT&T based on monthly use. enjoyed by low- and high-volume users alike. juego keno en lineaAll users should be benefiting. Since 1984, the FCC has been systematically cutting access fees charged long-distance companies by regional Bells to tap into local networks. The commission expected the billions in cost reductions to be passed on to long distance customers. But it looks as though long-distance firms simply pocketed much of the difference. As a result, consumer groups want the FCC to require the savings to be driven down to the consumers' phone bill. hotels LinzAll that's really needed, however, is some honesty from long-distance companies. Lille luxury hotelsOnce consumers can understand their long distance bills, they will certainly start demanding real price cuts. back to the News Center
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