Q: I exclusively use phone cards for my long-distance calls, dialing an 800 number. Doesn’t that require a long- distance carrier, or can I cancel that? Would that stop me from getting incoming long- distance calls?— Robert Fleming, Golden
A: The folks at Qwest tell me you are not required to have a long-distance carrier, essentially blocking your telephone from making that type of call.
But even if you remain without long-distance service at your home, that does not prevent you from dialing toll-free numbers, which historically have been prefixed with 800 but now include a variety, all beginning with the numeral “8.”
Long-distance calls can still get to you from family or friends — or any other source, for that matter — even if you have no long-distance carrier. That’s because you aren’t billed for the call, Qwest says.
Normally, a long-distance carrier is selected for you if you’ve not chosen one yourself when you set up new telephone service. So you clearly have to state you want none.
Of course, you always have the opportunity to change carriers or enlist one, though pricing is often so competitive that the cost of one is nearly like another. Nevertheless, the companies are indeed looking to keep your business.
With that in mind, you might do well to consider looking at the available plans, many of them including bundled services such as Internet, television and wireless. In the end, you might find your cost per call to be lower using this method than relying on the phone card.
Granted, the calling card is portable, and that’s an advantage you can’t get with home-based long distance. Still, it’s a good idea to evaluate how you’re using the calling card to see whether it’s worth the time in the end.
