How to choose your long distance service

Only a few years ago, this would’ve been an easy choice. You had a few major carriers and each of them had more or less the same offer. It wasn’t hard to make a decision, however, there were a few drawbacks. Among them, the fact that the prices were going up all the time, with no real competition to threaten the dominant position of the major telecom companies.

This started to change a while back, after the prepaid calling card business appeared on the market. Ignored at first, this new technology started to gain new ground and more and more people started using it, especially due to the low rates for long distance and international calls. Now, with some real competitors fighting for their customers, all major carriers are not only offering customized calling plans, but they are also using the new VoIP technology that made calling cards so popular.

So, whether you want to change your existing deal or just need to install a new phone service, the choice is no longer obvious. However, to make it easier, here is a list of steps you can follow to determine which is best for you:

1. Evaluate your calling needs: This is an essential step when choosing a long distance plan. You need to make an estimation of the number of calls that you will be making per month and the locations you’ll be calling. Will you make more local calls? Out of state? International calls?
2. Weight the length of a call and call destination: for example, long calls to international locations can rapidly increase your bill if your calling plan only includes free local calls.
3. Internet usage: some providers also offer a package deal of internet access. If you don’t need it, there’s no reason to pay more.
4. Fees: usually, when getting a new service there’s an activation fee you need to pay. Find out the amount before ordering the service to avoid any surprises
5. Read carefully the fine print: Request all existing details of the plan before you buy it. Otherwise, you may soon find that a feature that was included in the package might not be free, as you’ve expected. Ask for the restrictions applied to the plan. You don’t want to be in a situation where you need to make an urgent call only to find out you can’t do it with your current service.

To sum up:

1. If you only make local calls, there are plans that offer unlimited local calls for a fixed monthly amount. When you need to make a long distance or international call, get a prepaid calling card.
2. If you make both local and long distance / international calls you might want to look into an alternative service, rather than the one offered by companies such as AT&T, Sprint or Verizon. For a comparison between rates, check out this article: long distance service comparison. Prepaid long distance service is a lot more convenient in this case, as it is very easy to control the amount of money that you spend, rather than being surprised (negatively) by a huge bill at the end of the month.

Prepaid long distance plans are a lot more convenient for other reasons as well:

1. no activation fees
2. all maintenance fees (if any) are disclosed up-front
3. better control of the amount spent
4. easier to buy, recharge and use that regular service.

To get the long distance plan that suits your needs, use the search box below: