RATE HIKES MEAN IT'S TIME FOR LONG DISTANCE "CHECK-UP"
TRAC Chart Shows Consumers How To Save
Washington, D.C. - - It's time for a long-distance "check-up", according to TRAC, the Telecommunications Research and Action Center. TRAC, the only non-profit organization that publishes rate comparisons for consumers and small businesses, today released an updated TeleTips ™ Residential Long Distance Comparison Chart to reflect increases in basic rates by AT&T and MCI WorldCom, as well as increases in other fees on long distance bills.
"These changes have taken place since March, when we last published. So in less than three months, rates for long distance service among the major carriers has changed dramatically," said Samuel A. Simon, Chairman of TRAC.
AT&T and MCI WorldCom have increased the per minute rates in their "basic" plans. Universal service fees (USFs) have also increased since TRAC's last chart in March.
"With these increases in per minute rates, it is more important than ever for consumers to get off basic plans," according to Samuel A. Simon, Chair of TRAC. For example, a caller who makes about 60 minutes worth of calls a month, mostly in the evenings and on the weekends, will pay $18.74 a month with MCI WorldCom Standard. That caller could pay as little as $5.60 a month by signing up with MCI's Subscribe Online Plan One Net Savings. If you don't have internet access, try Frontier Home Town Saver for $7.05 a month. "As you can see, savings can be tremendous. Get the residential update to know what all your options are," said Simon.
Since TRAC's last study in March, universal service fees (USFs) have also increased. AT&T and Matrix have held steady at 9.9 and 8.4% respectively, but the other five carriers have increased their fees. These fees can make a difference in your bottom line when using different carriers. TRAC's TeleTips™ factors in these differences when it does its "shopping basket" approach of comparing rate plans.
To obtain a copy of TRAC's Residential Long Distance Update contact Karen Walls at 202-263-2973 (phone) or trac@trac.org (email).
#
AT&T and MCI WorldCom have increased the per minute rates on their basic plans as follows:
| Plan | Weekday | Weeknight | Saturday | Sunday |
AT&T
Standard | old 29.5
new 30 | old 22.5
new 25 | old 14.5
new 16 | old 14.5
new 16 |
AT&T
Sunday Basic | old 29.5
new 30 | old 22.5
new 25 | old 18
new 20 | old 10
new 10 |
AT&T
Saturday Basic | old 29.5
new 30 | old 22.5
new 25 | old 10
new 10 | old 18
new 20 |
AT&T
One Rate Basic | old 16
new 17.5 | old 16
new 17.5 | old 16
new 17.5 | old 16
new 17.5 |
| MCIWorldCom Standard | old 32
new 30 | old 22
new 25 | old 22
new 25 | old 5
new10 |
UNIVERSAL SERVICE FEE CHANGES
| Carrier | USF March 2001 | New USF |
| AT&T | 9.9% | 9.9% |
| Matrix | 8.4% | 8.4% |
| Sprint | 9.6% | 9.9% |
| MCI WorldCom | 9.9% | 12% |
| Excel | $1.40 | $1.44 |
| Frontier | 8.3% | 9.9% |
| Qwest | 8.3% | 9.9% |
# # #
MEDIA CONTACT:
John Breyault, TRAC, johnb@trac.org, 202-263-2943
ABOUT TRAC:
The Telecommunications Research and Action Center (TRAC), founded in 1983, is a non-profit membership organization based in Washington, DC that promotes the interests of residential telecommunications customers. TRAC staff researches telecommunications issues and publishes rate comparisons to help consumers make informed decisions regarding their long distance and local phone service options. TRAC can be found on the web at http://www.trac.org.
