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Q. Why don't the companies on your website list a toll-free customer service number?

A. Most of the vendors on our website do not list their toll-free customer service numbers simply because they do not accept any orders by phone. ALL of the companies we list offer toll-free customer service to their new and existing customers. These vendors generally e-mail you their customer service number immediately upon enrollment via their websites.

One of the reasons that these vendors are able to offer such low rates is because they have automated the customer sign-up process, and have no need to accept orders by phone, which is much more expensive and time consuming to do than processing orders via the Internet. All questions that a potential customer could ever ask are either answered on their website, via our reviews pages, or by sending an e-mail inquiry via the link we provide on each review page.

It really comes down to making a choice as to whether you want to pay more on your phone bill each and every month for the opportunity to place your order via phone vs. placing your order via the Internet. If you wish to keep paying extra each and every month because you made a single phone call, that is certainly up to you. In general, companies that accept orders via telephone have to cover that cost somehow though, and it is usually by charging their customers higher rates.

Q. What does "Available to Regional Bell customers only" mean?

A. Many carriers and resellers are now limiting the availability of their services or best rates to those residing in areas that were once served by The Bell System, prior to its breakup into what are now SBC, BellSouth, Qwest, and Verizon. Long distance carriers are charged less money by these phone companies to complete their calls than most of the smaller companies do, so limiting availability to those areas allows them to pass on lower rates to their customers.

Because of the many mergers that have happened since the original break up of the Bell System, determining if you are in an area served by one of the "Baby Bells" has become considerably more difficult, unfortunately. Here is a good rule of thumb though... If you are a local telephone customer of BellSouth, SBC, Qwest or parts of Verizon that were formerly Bell Atlantic territory (excluding parts of Verizon that formerly belonged to GTE, ConTel, or others), then you are likely in a Regional Bell Operating Company (RBOC) territory, and are eligible to subscribe to plans provided by companies who limit their availability to "RBOC Only" areas. Generally, these RBOC Only deals are NOT available to those using alternative local phone companies such as cable television providers, Competitive Local Exchange Carriers, or others.

Q. What is a USF Fee? Is it a tax?

A. Despite the rhetoric, half-truths and flat-out lies passed on by many long distance carriers, no company is required to charge consumers a fee for the Universal Service Fund (USF), a government program that was created to help wire rural schools and libraries to the Internet. There is a reason that this is labeled a FEE, rather than a TAX on your phone bill. That is because it is not a tax, and to call it such would be illegal.

USF fees are collected by the federal government from all long distance carriers. The fee percentage that each carrier must pay to the government changes regularly. It is currently 7.2805%. Although the FCC never intended these charges to be passed on directly to the consumer, but rather included in the company's per minute rates, it never bothered to regulate how much of the fee that a carrier could legally pass along to consumers. Unfortunately, many carriers have taken advantage of this oversight by dramatically marking up the fees charged to them by the government, and pocketing the difference for themselves.

The Federal Communications Commission is currently overhauling the USF system, and all carriers will soon be forced to charge consumers the same percentage, and not mark it up for the purpose of "bill padding". It will likely be several months before these new regulations take effect though.