No longer is the cheapest long distance service a matter of the lowest cent per minute rate. Long distance phone service now comes in the form of traditional cent per minute long distance, dialaround, calling cards, bundled phone service, and broadband phone, or VoIP, with unlimited minutes. Today, usage is far more important than rates. Low cent per minute long distance rates with traditional phone service are good if you don't expect to make many long distance phone calls. Keep in mind, you may be charged a fee by your phone company just to have this service on your line, even if you don't use it. FCC, PIC, taxes, sir charges, and monthly fees are the most common hidden fees. Dialaround long distance service is most commonly referred to as 1010 numbers, though some dialaround long distance providers offer an 800 access number instead. Dialaround long distance rates are typically slightly higher than a cent per minute plan on your phone line, but do not have as many, if any, hidden fee's taxes or sir charges. Calling cards are a cheap alternative to both dialaround and traditional long distance service. You can make long distance phone calls from any telephone and the rates can be very low. Calling cards are good for long distance when used in moderation. On most calling cards you'll be charged a set amount of minutes each time you use it. Bundled phone service can be a fairly inexpensive long distance plan if you make a lot of long distance phone calls and opt for unlimited minutes as the long distance portion of your calling plan. The only real draw back to a bundled phone service plan are those pesky hidden fees that can make up to 20% of your total bill, and sometimes more. Broadband phone, or VoIP is literally the cheapest long distance service available today. Since broadband telephone uses the Internet to send and receive calls, there are no hidden fee's taxes or surcharges associated with VoIP service. Unlimited local and long distance service for around $20.00 and a 3% federal excise tax is as cheap as it gets. Clearly the winner for the cheapest long distance service is broadband phone or VoIP. If you must use traditional methods for making long distance phone calls, just try to avoid any hidden fee's and go with the lowest cent per minute rate if you don't make many calls. Go for unlimited minutes if you'll be making a lot of long distance calls. |
