Price is right, but....

AuthorKronemyer, Bob
PositionChoosing long-distance telephone services

When choosing long distance, don't forget the other factors.

When choosing a long-distance telephone carrier, don't become fixated on price per minute alone. Businesses can lose sight of other cost-saving and convenient features such as integrated services and advanced billing systems.

The changing environment of phone service can be attributed in part to deregulation, as reflected in the 1996 Telecommunications Act. With local providers now able to tap into the long-distance business, and visa versa, the options and cost considerations become mind-boggling.

For starters, selecting a carrier with a business focus can be advantageous, says Frank Grillo, vice president of marketing for LDDS WorldCom, a long-distance provider based in Jackson, Miss., that offers service in Indiana. Many major carriers have large residential bases that "they have to defend against the new competition," Grillo says. "That's going to require resources anti attention and effort on their part. I think business clients have to look at where such an organization is going to be dedicating its resources."

In September, MCI Telecommunications Corp. introduced networkMCI One, a program aimed at mid-size businesses (companies typically having more than 100 employees). The comprehensive integrated package offers up to 20 services - including cellular, paging and Internet - all on one invoice.

"This package offers customers greater discounts with the more products and services they purchase and the length of their commitment with MCI," explains company spokesperson Kelly Moore. "Businesses can now have one contact and one contract for all their communications needs - from local to global, voice to data, wireless to conferencing."

Travel-card considerations include the possible per-call surcharge (for example, 80 cents), as well as a cost per minute. Moreover, interstate and intrastate rates vary at some carriers but are the same at others. Carmel-based Network America Inc., a privately held long-distance carrier founded in 1994 to target business accounts, has a flat rate of 17.5 cents per minute, both for interstate and intrastate. And the company levies no surcharge on travel-card calls. 'There are cases in which we can beat the major carriers by 85 or 90 percent," claims Steve Poole, the company's president.

Other travel-card features that companies should weigh include the availability of speed dialing, conference calling, directory assistance and message delivery...

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