Verizon to Raise Some Long Distance Fees September 1 - Verizon long distance subscribers may be in for a surprise when they open their next bill. Effective September 1, subscribers to Verizon's e-Values plan will be assessed a $1.50 monthly recurring charge. Verizon Five Cents Plan subscribers will see their monthly service charge increase by $1.00 from $3.95 to $4.95. "Verizon made these adjustments to our plans in response to market conditions and business needs," commented Christy Reap, a Verizon spokeswoman. For more information on the e-Values rate increase, click here(iii). For information on the Five Cents Plans increase, click here(iv).
Want to Find the Best Deal? Send Us Your Bills! - The explosion of communications tools in the past five years has increasingly rendered long-held notions of what defines a "phone call" obsolete. Consumers can now call across the street or across the globe with wireless phones, VoIP phones, computer microphones, and "plain old" wireline telephones. With so many options available, many consumers are paying too much simply because they do not want to wade through the mounds of information available to them to find a better deal. We here at TRACNotes would like to help. Send us copies of your local and long distance telephone, wireless, video, and Internet service bills. We will choose one bill for review in a future edition of TRACNotes. If we choose your bill you'll receive free copies of the TeleTips Residential Long Distance Comparison Chart and the TeleTips Consumer Guide to Telephone Service Over the Internet. Please be sure to include your phone number and address so we can better research what's available in your area. We will not print any personal information except the city and state in which you are located. We cannot return bills submitted, so please do not send original copies of your bills. Submissions may be e-mailed to trac@trac.org, faxed to (202) 263-2962, or mailed to the following address:
TRAC
P.O. Box 27279
Washington, DC 20005
Leasing Phones Is a Money-Losing Option - Nearly one million consumers continue to lease their phones from AT&T alone, according to a recent Associated Press story(v). This is costing consumers anywhere from $4.45 a month for an older rotary phone to $20.95 a month for a cordless phone with built-in digital answering machine. With new phones costing as little as $10 to buy, leasing a phone just doesn't make sense. Many consumers may not even be aware that they are leasing their phones. Elderly consumers in particular are more likely to still be leasing their phones, compared to other users. According to a 1998 AARP survey 6 percent of people 75 or older leased their phone, compared with 2 percent under 65. If you have an elderly parent or neighbor, you may want to review their phone bills to see if they are still paying for a rented phone. Look for charges listed as "leased equipment." Some carriers include the charge on the monthly phone bill while others send a separate bill for the lease fee.
WASHINGTON WATCH
TRAC and UCC to Host Parker Lecture and Awards September 14 - TRAC and the Office of Communications of the United Church of Christ (UCC) are again pleased to host the 22nd Annual Everett C. Parker Ethics in Telecommunications Lecture and Awards Luncheon. The 2004 honorees are David Honig, Executive Director of the Minority Media and Telecommunications Council and Dennis Swanson, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Viacom Televisions Stations Group and Chairman of the Emma Bowen Foundation. This year's distinguished Parker Lecturer will be Michel Martin, correspondent and guest anchor for ABC's Nightline. The event was created in 1982 to recognize Rev. Dr. Everett C. Parker's pioneering work as an advocate for the public's rights in broadcasting. It is the only lecture in the country to examine telecommunications and the digital age from an ethical perspective. Past speakers include network presidents, Congressional leaders, FCC chairs and commissioners, as well as academics, cable and telephone executives and journalists. This year's event will be held on Tuesday, September 14, 2004 at the National City Christian Church in Washington, DC. For more information about this year's event or to register to attend, click here(vi).
INTERESTING LINKS
FCC Main Page - http://www.fcc.gov
FCC Complaint Form - http://svartifoss2.fcc.gov/cib/fcc475.cfm
List of State Regulatory Commissions - http://www.naruc.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=15
What do you think? Got a tip you want to share? Nominate your "Scam of the Week" and your "Tip of the Week" - If we select your submission, we'll give you a one-year free membership in TRAC and acknowledge your contribution by name in TRACNotes. Send an e-mail to trac@trac.org to submit your ideas!
©2004 Telecommunications Research and Action Center. TRAC grants unlimited rights to reproduce TRACNotes or any information contained in it provided attribution is given as follows: "Source:Telecommunications Research and Action Center. http://www.trac.org"
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