BUCKS WATCH
TRAC State-by-State Local Phone Plan Comparison: Connecticut - (Note: This is the seventh in a series of articles comparing local telephone rates in each of the 50 states) Compared to other states, Connecticut local phone subscribers have somewhat fewer choices for residential phone service. Incumbent-provided local phone service in the state is available from Verizon, which serves the northwestern portion of the state, and AT&T, which serves the rest of the state. In most areas, the local cable company (Cablevision, Comcast, or Cox, depending on location) is also offering a competitive local phone service, either via VoIP technology or via traditional copper-based methods. As in other states, consumers with an existing broadband connection can take advantage of this resource to save money by switching to a third-party VoIP service like the ones offered by Packet8 or Vonage. Consumers who want to stick with traditional wireline telephone service will generally find that an unlimited local calling plan with Caller ID and call waiting will cost anywhere from $26.09 (Cox Communications’ Digital Voice product) up to $33.31, which is what AT&T is charging in some service areas. “Margins for saving on local phone service in Connecticut may be thin,” said TRAC Research Associate John Breyault. “but careful consumers could save $50 or more per year by being on the right plan.”
A note on methodology: TRAC’s local phone plan survey takes in to account the prices for monthly service, the federal subscriber line charge, and the two most popular calling options – Caller ID and call waiting. Note that some local phone service plans are only offered as a bundle with long distance service, which skews the total cost comparison somewhat. TRAC’s survey covered plans being offered in a variety of local service areas. Plans surveyed may not be available in every area of the state.
| TRAC Local Phone Plan Comparison: Colorado |
| Carrier |
Plan |
Monthly Service Fee |
Caller ID |
Call Waiting |
Federal Subscriber Line Charge |
Broadband Fee* |
Total |
| ACN |
Advantage Home w/Standard Long Distance |
$25.49 |
Included |
$5.73 |
N/A |
$31.22 |
| AT&T |
Flat Primary Residential Line |
$10.53 - $14.53 |
$8.50 |
$4.50 |
$5.78 |
N/A |
$29.31 - $33.31 |
| Cablevision |
Optimum Voice |
$29.95 |
Included |
N/A |
$39.45 |
$69.40 |
| Cablevision |
Optimum Voice (without broadband fee) |
$29.95 |
Included |
N/A |
N/A |
$29.95 |
| Comcast |
Digital Voice Unlimited |
$54.95 |
Included |
N/A |
N/A |
$54.95 |
| Cox Communications |
Digital Telephone |
$11.95 |
$7.75 |
$6.39 |
N/A |
$26.09 |
| MCI |
Neighborhood Connect 200 |
$42.99 |
Included |
$6.50 |
N/A |
$49.49 |
| Packet8 |
Freedom Unlimited |
$19.99 |
Included |
N/A |
$39.45 |
$59.44 |
| PAcket8 |
Freedom Unlimited (without broadband fee) |
$19.99 |
Included |
N/A |
N/A |
$19.99 |
| Sage Telecom |
Simply Savings Essentials |
$24.99 |
Included |
$7.48 |
N/A |
$32.47 |
| Trinsic |
Options Plan |
$29.90 |
Included |
$6.50 |
N/A |
$36.40 |
| Verizon |
Flat Rate Service |
$13.43 |
$7.75 |
$4.68 |
$6.39 |
N/A |
$32.25 |
| Verizon |
Local Package |
$24.95 |
Included |
$6.39 |
N/A |
$31.34 |
| Vonage |
Premium Unlimited Plan |
$24.99 |
Included |
N/A |
$39.45 |
$64.44 |
| Vonage |
Residential Basic 500 Minutes Plan |
$14.99 |
Included |
N/A |
$39.45 |
$54.44 |
| Vonage |
Premium Unlimited Plan
(without broadband fee) |
$24.99 |
Included |
N/A |
N/A |
$24.99 |
| Vonage |
Residential Basic 500 Minutes Plan
(without broadband fee) |
$14.99 |
Included |
N/A |
N/A |
$14.99 |
* Average of nationwide cable modem prices as defined by Kagan Research - 7/6/06.
Office Depot Offering A Great Deal on Cordless Phones – One of our favorite consumer websites here at TRAC is Consumerworld.org run by uber-saver Ed Dworsky. This week, he caught a promotion being run by Office Depot that we couldn’t resist passing along. The office supply giant is selling a set of four 2.4 GHz cordless handsets from American Telecom for $19.99. Included in the purchase price is a 1000-minute prepaid long distance phone card. Of course, there’s usually a catch with these “great” deals, but this time it’s not too bad. The $19.99 price is only good after a mail-in rebate. The retail price of the phone a prepaid long distance package is $89.99. That said, for consumers who trust themselves to send in the rebate, this is one steal of a deal. For more information on this promotion, click here.
WIRELESS WATCH
ESPN Mobile Calls It Quits; Subscribers Get Refunds – Mobile ESPN, the sports content-laden wireless service launched by ESPN in February announced this week that it will be ceasing operations in its current form on December 31, 2006. In a welcome move for the service’s subscribers, the company announced that it would refund the purchase price of its handsets once existing subscribers have paid their final bills in full. In addition, customers who want to get out of their contracts sooner than the end of the year will be able to do so without incurring an early termination fee. ESPN Mobile will also continue to honor porting requests for subscribers who want to take their current ESPN Mobile phone number to a new carrier. Customers with questions should be sure to contact ESPN Mobile Customer Care at 1-866-306-ESPN (3776). For more information on this announcement, click here.
TRAC IN THE NEWS
Use TRAC Charts to Compare Colorado Local Phone Options – Last week’s local phone comparison chart was quoted in the Greeley Tribune. “For consumers in Colorado, the data displays a variety of providers and plans in the metropolitan Denver area,” noted the article. To read the full article, click here.
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
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