Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/5/84; site wivax.UUCP Path: utzoo!linus!decvax!wivax!bazelman From: bazelman@wivax.UUCP (Rudy Bazelmans) Newsgroups: net.consumers Subject: Re: Alternate phone carrier query Message-ID: <20112@wivax.UUCP> Date: Mon, 15-Oct-84 22:35:56 EDT Article-I.D.: wivax.20112 Posted: Mon Oct 15 22:35:56 1984 Date-Received: Wed, 17-Oct-84 19:27:50 EDT References: <2566@hplabsb.UUCP> Organization: Wang Institute, Tyngsboro, Ma. 01879 Lines: 40 > > Does anyone have any recommendations for alternate long distance > phone carriers? My roommate wants to get a subscription > to SBS, which supposedly has reasonable coverage and channel > quality. My only experience so far has been with MCI, which > seemed to have a lot of hiss and fading. > -- > Ho John Lee, HP Labs I have been using SPRINT for about a year now. I use SPINT rather than MCI because the ability to make calls from outside your local calling area is free whereas MCI charges $5/mo. I am often in NH, MA and NY and it is nice to use the service anywhere. It is also about 10-20% cheaper than AT&T. On the down side: The phone quality is all right, not great. I get billed for one minute calls that I never made. Apparently they (and several others including MCI) can't detect when the phone was actually answered and if you let it ring too long (>5?) they assume that it was answered. It is also a real pain to get credit for phone calls never made. I have also had numerous occasions where the local access number was either busy or it didn't answer. I have also gotten busy signals from the SPRINT trunks on the destination side. When I call customer service, they tell me to try again later. If I decide to use AT&T, they won't pay the difference. I recently heard from a reliable source at from AT&T that the reason that AT&T is so much higher in cost compared to the other long-distance carriers is because they are required to pay twice the access charges until equal access is in effect in the area. When equal access is in effect, I plan to return to good old AT&T; maybe sooner. -- Rudy Bazelmans - Wang Institute, (617) 967-2609 [apollo, bbncca, cadmus, decvax, harvard, linus, masscomp]!wivax!bazelmans