A Colorado utility watchdog blasted AT&T, MCI and Sprint on Thursday for inflated long-distance phone prices and extolled the cheap rates of Costco phone cards and little-known carriers such as Pioneer Telephone.
Denver-based Qwest, the local- phone provider for much of the American West, placed in the middle of the ranking prepared by Colorado’s Office of Consumer Counsel.
“If your long-distance company is AT&T, MCI or Sprint, you are generally paying too much,” the report said. “These three companies have added fees and surcharges to their bills that make their calling plans confusing and unattractive.”
Consumers should choose their long-distance plan according to how many, and what kind of, calls they make each month, said OCC director Jim Greenwood.
“Pioneer Telephone’s ‘Rate Buster’ plan is the best all-around deal at 2.7 cents per minute for state-to-state calls, 4.9 cents a minute in-state and no monthly fee or minimum,” Greenwood said.
“If you don’t mind dialing extra digits and the membership fee is not a problem, a 700-minute MCI prepaid card is available at Costco for $19.99 – that is 2.9 cents per minute, with no hidden fees nor expiration date,” Greenwood said. “Alternatively, there is always the wireless option with long-distance as part of the included minutes.”
OCC budget analyst Rob Trokey said he switched both his local and long-distance phone service to Boulder-based carrier C-Com when he started working on the OCC’s annual ranking four years ago. Trokey estimates that he saves about $15 per month – evenly divided between local, long-distance and international calling – over what he would pay with Qwest.
But Qwest spokeswoman Carey Madsen said Qwest’s rates are competitive.
“Customers that choose Qwest unlimited long-distance can benefit from bundle discounts,” Madsen said. “Qwest is the only company in the study that offers a complete selection of services, including high-speed Internet, wireless, digital TV, local, long-distance and wireless.”
Staff writer Ross Wehner can be reached at 303-820-1503 or rwehner@denverpost.com.
