BUCKS WATCH
TRAC State-by-State Local Phone Plan Comparison: Illinois – (Note: This is the thirteenth in a series of articles comparing local telephone rates in each of the 50 states) After a hopefully happy Thanksgiving, consumers in Illinois (and elsewhere) are shifting their focus towards the upcoming holiday season. While this time of year is known for its good cheer and time spent with loved ones, we at TRAC realize that it also means opening up that checkbook a little wider for gifts and travel. One way to help offset these additional costs may be to look for savings on your local phone service. In Illinois, AT&T and Verizon are the two dominant local service providers. The cheapest AT&T plan surveyed was the “Primary Residential Line” plan at $20.77 per month. The least expensive Verizon plan surveyed was the $35.44 per month “Basic Plan.” Plans from smaller local companies such as Forte Communications ($33.50) and Gallatin River Communications ($33.50) remain competitive with big companies and offer alternatives in different parts of the state. An intriguing option in AT&T’s service area is Trinsic, which is currently offering its “Basic Service WA” plan for $31.49 per month. As always, VoIP is another option for consumers in Illinois with existing broadband connections. While there is little in the way of smaller Illinois-based companies offering residential VoIP solutions, Vonage and Packet8, two of the larger residential VoIP services, offer packages that are significantly cheaper than the traditional wireline offerings. Consumers who are already using their existing broadband connections for other uses may want to consider one of these plans as long as they remain aware of the differences between VoIP and traditional local phone service.
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: Illinois |
| Carrier |
Plan |
Monthly Service Fee |
Caller ID |
Call Waiting |
Federal Subscriber Line Charge |
Broadband Fee* |
Total |
| AT&T |
Primary Residential Line |
$9.00 |
$5.54 |
$1.68 |
$4.55 |
N/A |
$20.77 |
| Comcast |
Digital Voice Unlimited (without bundled Comcast Internet) |
$54.95 |
Included |
N/A |
N/A |
$54.95 |
| Comcast |
Digital Voice Unlimited (with bundled Comcast Internet) |
$44.95 |
Included |
N/A |
$39.45 |
$84.40 |
| Gallatin River Communications |
Select Savings |
$33.50 |
Included |
Included |
N/A |
$33.50 |
| Forte Communications, Inc. |
Standard Service Area A or B |
$35.00 |
Included |
$6.50 |
N/A |
$41.50 |
| Forte Communications, Inc. |
Standard Service Area C |
$45.00 |
Included |
$6.50 |
N/A |
$51.50 |
| Frontier Communications |
Frontier Digital Voice |
$39.95 |
Included |
Included |
N/A |
$39.45 |
| MCI |
Nighborhood Unlimited |
$49.99 |
Included |
$6.50 |
N/A |
$56.49 |
| MCI |
Neighborhood Connect 500 |
$39.99 |
Included |
$6.50 |
N/A |
$46.49 |
| MCI |
Neighborhood Connect 200 |
$33.99 |
Included |
$6.50 |
N/A |
$40.49 |
| 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 |
| Trinsic |
Basic Service WA |
$24.99 |
Included |
$6.50 |
N/A |
$31.49 |
| Trinsic |
Trinsic Basic Service with PVA |
$28.88 |
$4.95 |
Included |
$6.50 |
N/A |
$40.33 |
| Trinsic |
Trinsic Value |
$39.58 |
Included |
$6.50 |
N/A |
$46.08 |
| Verizon |
Basic Plan |
$16.99 |
$7.95 |
$4.00 |
$6.50 |
N/A |
$35.44 |
| Verizon |
Unlimited Local Calling Package |
$49.95 |
Included |
Included |
N/A |
$49.95 |
| 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.
BellSouth Launches a New Toll-Free Service, But Is It Worth the Cost? - On Wednesday, November 29, BellSouth announced that it was launching a new “Toll-free at Home Service” for its current long distance customers. The service includes a toll-free number and a personal identification number (PIN) that subscribers can use to call their home phone numbers from anywhere in the U.S. and Canada. The service is not cheap at 10¢ a minute, but for consumers who want a way for someone from outside their local calling area to call them at no cost, it certainly beats the high fees of collect calls. The service is available to any BellSouth long distance subscriber and does not have a monthly service fee. This service could be a good option for consumers who have many friends and relatives outside of town and don’t want their callers to have to pay long distance fees. For consumers who only take calls from a few out-of-town callers, however, a better option may be to invest in prepaid phone cards and mail them to the people you want to call you or hand them out at family gatherings over the holidays. The cards that are available for purchase at major discount warehouse stores such as Costco, Sam’s Club, BJ's, Wal-Mart, and Target tend to have lower per-munte rates than BellSouth’s toll-free service. For more information on BellSouth’s Toll-Free at Home Service as well as BellSouth’s other services, click here or visit http://www.bellsouth.com/tollfreeathome.
WIRELESS WATCH
Saving Money On Your Cell Phone Bill While Overseas - Consumers planning a trip abroad this winter who want to continue to be accessible by cell phone should take care when planning their communications options for the trip. Due to the differences in network standards used by the various U.S. carriers, a U.S. cell phone may or may not work abroad. For example, since Cingular and T-Mobile’s services both operate on the GSM standard, they will likely function in most European and Asian countries. Verizon Wireless and Sprint-Nextel which operate on the CDMA and PCS/iDEN standards, respectively, may not depending on the type of handset used. Depending on the country of travel, the international per minute charges for calls to or from a U.S.-based handset can be very expensive -- from 99¢ to well over $2.50 per minute. Many U.S. wireless carriers have international service options available (for a monthly fee) which discount international rates somewhat. While the overseas calls are never cheap, these plans can help offset high overseas roaming charges if you are planning on being away for more than a few days at a time and expect to be calling the United States frequently. If you are in a foreign country, and have brought your cell phone but do not plan on using it very often and do not anticipate receiving phone calls of importance, be sure to turn off your phone. By doing this, calls will go directly to voicemail service rather than ringing you phone. If you decide to leave the phone on and do not answer your calls, the phone will most likely automatically forward the call to the voicemail, but may still charge you for the overseas call. Another option is to rent a phone upon arrival in your destination country. You will get a phone number associated with that country and the service will be with a foreign carrier. While there may be a significant up-front cost for the rental of the phone, chances are that the airtime charges will be much cheaper than cost of using your U.S. cell phone on a foreign network.
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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