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  • Who Is My Long Distance Carrier

    By Rick

    Long distance calling can be an expensive luxury for many people that can get even more expensive if you choose the wrong carrier to handle the calls. With the fierce competition for these long distance dollars a few years back, some of the less honorable companies would switch your long distance calls to another carrier without you even knowing. In many cases a consumer may be left asking the question “who is my long distance carrier?”. There are a few ways to uncover this and knowing who is handling your expensive long distance calls is the first step in reducing your monthly phone bills. Answering the question “who is my long distance carrier?” takes a little work that is well worth the effort.

    Click here to compare long distance carriers and save 100s

    Where to Start

    There are a number of websites available that can help you discover who is my long distance carrier and detail the process for you. In essence you can call one of two numbers to verify your current carrier is, and then make adjustments if needed. You can find the numbers through FCC. Both of these numbers are free to call and will provide the current carriers associated with the number you are calling from. In many cases you will discover that your carrier has been changed to a company you don’t recognize and this may have been the result of you accepting an offer over the phone. In most cases the offer you agreed to had nothing to do with your phone service but gave the company calling you permission to change your provider. In the business this is known as “slamming” and was so widespread that the FCC setup the two phone numbers listed to help combat the practice. Once you answer the question “who is my long distance carrier?” you can quickly make changes to your service.

    Click here to compare long distance carriers and save 100s

    How Did This Happen?

    If you have ever had to answer the question “who is my long distance carrier?” it’s probably because your service was changed without your knowledge. Long distance calling is so lucrative that many smaller companies jumped into the market when it was deregulated a number of years ago. This gave them the chance to charge for your long distance calls by routing them through their networks using your existing phone lines. By taking control of routing your calls they could charge you whatever they wanted for making this connection. These rates were usually several times higher than your old carrier and raised your monthly bill substantially. This type of slamming became so common that it left many consumers asking “who is my long distance carrier and how did this happen?”

    How to Change Your Carrier

    If asking the question “who is my long distance carrier?” resulted in a surprising answer, there are a few ways of changing back to your original carrier. The Federal Communications Commission takes the practice of slamming very seriously and can help you sort out your situation. Their website has detailed instruction on how to prevent this from happening as well as fixing it once it has. You can basically call up the new company and tell them to switch you back and won’t be responsible for any charges incurred. You can also place a freeze on your service to avoid having to ask the question “who is my long distance carrier?” ever again.

    Click here to compare long distance carriers and save 100s

  • Long Distance Rate: Reduce It, Slash It

    By Rick

    There are a few things you can do to lower your long distance rate and save money every month on your phone bills. Searching for a lower rate can take a little work but will pay off every month in the savings you’ll enjoy while staying in touch with distant family and friends. Even though these discounted plans have been available for some time, many people don’t understand how their long distance is billed and have stayed with their original carrier as a result. Making a few simple changes can have a huge impact on your current long distance rate and will enable you to talk longer, for far less than ever before.

    Click here to compare low cost long distance rate plans and save 100s

    Ask Your Current Carrier

    Even though your phone company will do its best to provide a great service for your home, they are still a business. It’s not in their interest to contact you about lowering your long distance rate and if you leave things alone you’ll probably pay the highest cost possible for these calls. All of the major carriers have discount plans available to help lower your long distance rate and all you need to do to take advantage of them is ask. One simple phone call to your current carrier might have you saving money today on these long distance calls and the changes don’t even require a technician to visit your home. The discounted packages these traditional carriers offer are much lower than the standard rates and have the advantage of being easy to use.

    Shop Around For a New Carrier

    If you want an even lower long distance rate than your current carrier can typically provide, shop around with one of the other carriers offering this service. Since deregulation was implemented, these independent long distance carriers can offer you rock bottom pricing for your international calls and even use the same wiring in your home today. You won’t have to do anything to take advantage of this lower long distance rate except make the call. Most of these carriers will switch your service for free and may even be able to combine their billing with the monthly bill you receive from your local carrier every month.

    Click here to compare low cost long distance rate plans and save 100s

    Use a Dialing Code for Even Steeper Discounts

    Another option that many people prefer is using one of the discounted long distance companies that provide dialing codes. These companies don’t impact your current service and simply provide a string of digits for you to dial before you enter the number you want to call. These digits tell the local phone carrier to route the call through this vendor’s network where they provide a discounted long distance rate. This is commonly called a dial-around service because it utilizes your existing equipment to route the call through another vendor’s network. Most of these plans charge a flat monthly fee for the service and allow you to call as often as you like. This is a great way to lower your long distance rate and is flexible as well. These services can be used from any phone you like and will provide same great quality of call as your current phone. There are a wide range of companies that offer this type of dial-around service so be sure to compare them carefully before selecting a vendor since their plans can be quite different.

    Click here to compare low cost long distance rate plans and save 100s

  • Phone Service

    By Rick

    The concept of phone service has been changing in recent years with the explosive growth of cell phones. Not only has cell phone service expanded to a wider coverage area, these phones have gotten smarter and more functional every year. Some of the newer phones are actually blurring the line between traditional phone service and laptop computers for many people. Things like email, web browsing, calendars and chatting have all moved to these mobile devices. In some countries, younger people growing up during this Smartphone revolution will never have a need for another device and will be able to do all their daily tasks on their mobile device.

    Click here to compare phone service plans

    Expansion of Coverage

    The first major improvement that helped cell phone service to expand was the larger coverage areas for these phones. The upgrading of these coverage areas was a slow process as many of the carriers not only had to erect towers for the systems to utilize, they were also upgrading the underlying technology to provide faster speeds for the data connections they offered. The overall effect was that basic cell phone service was available in many more areas than ever before and connecting to the internet from these phones was quicker as well. This faster internet connection allowed the phones to do much more than simply browse the web or send a message. It enabled the growth of applications that could turn these phones into everything from GPS devices to streaming media players.

    Click here to compare cell phone service plans

    Improving the Reliability of the Service

    Another major upgrade for cell phone service came in the way the connections were handled between cell towers. Older systems had a difficult time handing off a call when a user left a coverage area and this resulted in a large number of dropped calls. This made these early cell phones unreliable and prevented them from being taken seriously by businesses. As the coverage areas improved, so did the way the various cell towers interacted with each other to ensure a smoother handoff. This transition between towers now takes place flawlessly and allows a call to stay connected for as long and as far as you travel. The roaming agreements between various carriers have also improved to allow you to use your phone service out of your home coverage area with less hassle. All of this helps to make these modern cell phones easier to use for the average consumer.

    Extending the Functionality

    As the coverage area for cell phone service expanded and became more reliable, the phones also became much smarter. They started interacting with the web through their data connection to provide very useful information on your location, stock prices, weather and wide range of other data that made life easier. Eventually applications started to appear for these Smartphones that turned them into very specific devices when used. You could find an application for almost anything you needed to do and these helped to expand the basic cell phone’s use well beyond simply making calls. Modern Smartphones can provide directions, wake you in the morning, remind you of an important appointment and even buy your movie tickets for you on the way to the theater. These applications have helped to expand the usefulness of these cell phones and transform them into a critical device that is always within reach for most people.

    Click here to compare phone service plans

  • Save On Long Distance

    By Rick

    If you make a lot of expensive international calls, you can use your cell phone to help you save on long distance charges. There are a number of companies that offer calling plans you can use with your cell to lower the cost of these long distance calls. These applications are easy to use, integrate with your address book and can save you hundreds of dollars a year on your calling costs. Many of the applications are free or very low cost and all of them are worth the investment to help you save on long distance calls.

    Click here to compare multiple plans and save on long distance

    VoIP Applications

    VoIP technology has been maturing in recent years to the point that it now provides a very good call quality when compared to other cell phone calls. Older versions of VoIP could sometimes sound tinny and have a slight echo but these new applications enhance the call quality and do a better job of buffering the calls to eliminate gaps in the conversation. Any of the wide range of VoIP applications available for your Smartphone can save on long distance charges and offer a variety of cost models. Most of the VoIP applications require you to sign up for an account and typically limit their use to outgoing calls only for free. While this is great for making occasional calls to family and friends, it’s nice to have an incoming number as well so they can call you back when needed. With many of these applications, this incoming call will cost you money but can still help you save on long distance since it’s much cheaper than a standard call.

    Reduced Rate Apps

    Some of the Smartphone applications are tied to a rate plan, similar to calling cards. Even though you won’t receive a physical card, you’ll still need to pay for a certain amount of minutes to initially fund your account, which can then be used for your long distance calls. While this is not a completely free service, it can still save on long distance charges by reducing your cost per minute. When comparing these reduced rate applications, be sure to clearly understand what features the application provides. Some of them allow you to dial direct and others initiate the call and forced the remote number to call you back to save money. While this can be inexpensive for you, there may be a charge for the person you are calling to make this connection. These types of plans can help you save on long distance calls and are very easy to use.

    Click here to compare multiple plans and save on long distance

    Sponsored Call Options

    A recent phenomenon that can help you save on long distance calling charges is the sponsored call. This type of application is tied to a larger company trying to promote their products through the use of the application. They are willing to provide free long distance calling in exchange for your listening to an advertisement for their products. To use this type of application you typically start the app and enter the number you want to call, which is connected once you listen to a short product pitch. While this may seem like a lot of work, it can really help you save on long distance calls by connecting you for free in exchange for a short bit of your attention.

    Click here to compare multiple plans and save on long distance

  • Telephone Carrier

    By Rick

    A telephone carrier is the company responsible for making the connection, both locally and internationally, between phones to complete your call. In the early days of telephones this was one company who owned all the equipment used in the call. Over the years this company grew to be a monopoly that was eventually broken up into smaller companies through deregulation. This landmark move created a very vibrant market for phone service, which gave the average consumer the ability to choose their telephone carrier and not have the limited choices of the past.

    Click here to compare low cost telephone carriers and save money. Free comparison tool and free international and long distance calls as a test package.

    In The Beginning

    Since the first phones were introduced at the turn of the century, all calls were completed and controlled by a single telephone carrier in the United States. While this did ensure a consistent quality and reliability for the calls, it artificially raised the price of these calls as well. This all changed in 1969 when AT&T was forced to release its monopolistic grip on the industry and break apart the company into a single long distance supplier, AT&T and several regional companies for local service. This not only changed the way that phone calls were priced, it allowed consumers to purchase their own equipment to use on these networks. The FCC called this common carriage and it was a major change at the time that had never been done before. It quickly paved the way for other companies to enter this emerging market and bring with them a spirit of innovation. Even though most homes were still limited to a single telephone carrier, that was all about to change.

    Click here to compare low cost telephone carriers and save money. Free comparison tool and free international and long distance calls as a test package.

    Competition Heats Up

    Once deregulation started in the telephone industry, other companies entered the market competing to be the chosen telephone carrier for consumers. The breakup of the original AT&T required that the company allow competitors to use the wiring to these homes and simply charge them a small fee for the privilege. This allowed these other companies to build a business with very little capital outlay since they were using the existing infrastructure to deliver their service. Initial these other companies offer consumers services that were very much like their original telephone carrier but at a lower cost per month. Innovation soon gave way to an expanding array of upgrade services over time that included speed-dialing, voicemail, three-way calling and other features never seen before.

    The Modern Landscape

    While most of these early companies concentrated on providing local calling rates for consumers, it wasn’t until slightly later that they also focused on long distance services as well. Modern services in the long distance space now allow these international calls to be made for far lower than ever before. In some cases the telephone carrier is still using the local landlines to complete part of the call and with others they are passing their traffic over the web. Regardless of how the calls are being completed, consumers have benefitted by being able to make these long distance calls cheaper and more reliably. This allows them to focus on cost and gives them the flexibility to change to a new telephone carrier if they are unhappy with the pricing and service of their current company.

    Click here to compare low cost telephone carriers and save money. Free comparison tool and free international and long distance calls as a test package.

  • Long Distance Packages

    By Rick

    International calling can be a very expensive thing to do unless you find one of the many long distance packages to help you lower this cost. These calling plans allow you to make these calls at a discount and can save you hundreds of dollar every year on your long distance charges. There are a wide variety of long distance packages to choose from and comparing them carefully is the first step in find the one that’s right for you.

    Click here to compare long distance packages and save 100s every year

    Some of the plans provide a certain number of minutes each month for your long distance calls and others simply guarantee a lower fixed rate per minute of calling time. Overall they can be a very effective way to make the calls you want without paying more than you need.

    Minutes per Month

    One of the most popular long distance packages typically provides a certain number of minutes each month that can be used for long distance calling. This is a great way to lower your costs and allows you to stop worrying about how much your call is costing you. You can simply use the minutes provided by these long distance packages and call as often as you like.  With many of the plans, any minutes you don’t use in a particular month can be carried over to the next. This is a great option to have and one you should look for with any plan you’re considering.

    Lower Cost per Call

    Another standard plan from many carriers provides for a reduced cost per minute for the long distance calls you make. These types of long distance packages typically require a small monthly fee as well as the charges for the calls. This type of plan is less expensive for most people that only dial long distance occasionally. They can enjoy the lower rate on the calls and not have to worry about using all the minutes of a monthly plan before they expire. These types of long distance packages are available from carriers that supply landline services as well as mobile carriers. If you have to make occasional long distance calls, see if your current carrier has a plan that allows you to lower the cost per minute of your calls.

    Click here to compare long distance packages and save 100s every year

    Unlimited Long Distance Dialing

    If you make a lot of international calls to family and friends, you might want to consider one of the unlimited long distance packages. These plans allow you to call a select number of people each month for one flat monthly fee. The restrictions on these plans vary considerably so be careful to read the fine print before agreeing to a contract. With some plans you have to specify these numbers you are including in advance and with other long distance packages the first 10 numbers you call every month make up that group. This can be a great way to lower your monthly long distance charges if you only call a small number of people.

    The only other consideration is that some of these plans only work with specific regions of the world and may be restricted further to only calling landlines. Understanding these restrictions before signing a contract is always the best idea when shopping for a long distance plan that works for you.

    Click here to compare long distance packages and save 100s every year

  • How To Reduce Your Monthly Cell Phone Bill

    By John

    Most Americans love the benefits that cell phones bring. Apparently cell phone ownership is somewhere north of 80%. They don’t much like what they have to pay for all those benefits, however – the average monthly bill is around $70, and the priciest phone/plan package is around $120 – and would love to see this reduced. It’s not all that hard, actually. There are a few conventional ways of achieving it – bundling and so on which we will get to later – but also a couple of little-appreciated tricks which you should try first to reduce your monthly cell phone bill.

    Click here to compare cell phone plans and save hundreds

    How Do You Use Your Cell Phone?

    You can’t really pinpoint the areas where you can reduce your cell phone bill until you know how you use your phone. What proportion of the bill goes on calling, texting, and data? You should analyze your bills for a couple of months and note the averages.

    Try These

    Next you should try these:

    • Calling. Use the free apps on all the major OS platforms that allow you to call and video-call for free over the internet, thus avoiding the cellular network. Of course, this only works if the person you are calling also has the app installed, but this tip can help them reduce their bills too!
    • Texting. Again, use the free apps that provide instant messaging outside of the cellular network.
    • Data. There is an app available for the major OS platforms that promises to reduce the amount of data you download by means of compression. You could learn how it works and see if you want to try it.

    Click here to compare cell phone plans and save hundreds

    After you have tried these for a couple of months, analyze your phone bill again and see what differences there are in the amounts you are paying for each element. Now you have a new usage profile, and can look at the conventional ways to reduce your bill further.

    Bundle

    You can get a substantial reduction by bundling your cell phone, landline and cable, internet and TV services with one provider. You can also get cheaper cell phone plans for a family ‘bundle’.

    Find The Right Plan

    Look for a cheaper plan that better fits your new usage profile.

    Get Rid Of The Extras

    You should ask yourself if you really need the special call waiting, caller ID, visual voicemail and other services. Cut them out for further reductions.

    Switch To A Different Carrier

    Smaller carriers, if available in your area, often have lower rates than the big ones.

    Do You Need A Contract?

    Providing the phone yourself and going with a reduced monthly plan can work out cheaper than taking a phone plus plan package, depending on the amounts of overage billing you incur. You will need to do your sums.

    Click here to compare cell phone plans and save hundreds

    Go With Wi-Fi

    Unless you are a compulsive news junkie or live by email, you should be able to exist on wi-fi alone for your data needs. There are smartphone apps which automatically connect with public wi-fi when available, and all modern smartphones will remember hotspots that they have connected to before. Cutting or reducing the data element of your plan will reduce your bill considerably.

    Reducing your monthly phone bill is comparatively easy, and the beauty is that, unlike making savings in other areas of your life, once it’s done, it’s done!

  • Choosing Between Cellular Carriers

    By David

    If you have recently started trying to choose between cellular carriers, you may be having trouble figuring out what makes one carrier better than another. You have probably read several articles touting one or the other as the best of the cellular carriers, but how can you know they are the right one for you? In order to help you make a comparison for yourself, we have created a short three-step guide for choosing between cellular carriers.

    Click here to compare cellular carriers and save

    Check Coverage Area

    The first thing you will want to do as you compare cellular carriers is to check each ones coverage area and make sure where you live and the places you frequent fall within it. While many of the major carriers boast a national coverage area, some of the smaller ones are more locally based. Regardless of which carrier you are talking about, each will have their coverage areas and more detailed information about their coverage available on one of their main pages. When looking at the smaller carriers, be sure that the coverage you are receiving is not from towers rented from other companies. This could lead you to be subject to additional charges for “roaming”

    Click here to compare cellular carriers and save

    Choose Plans and Services

    At this point you will have likely narrowed down the list of contenders, so now it is time to look are the plans and services that each cellular carrier is offering. You will want to decide beforehand what features you would like to have (unlimited texting, or 3GB of data for instance) and build a plan on each carriers web site that includes these things. Keep in mind, especially when you know you do not need a great deal of one or two things on your plan, that it may be cheaper to choose a basic plan (500 minutes a month or something similar) and add to it the additional features you want through the use of services. Typically you do not get as much for your money this way, but why pay for unlimited minutes if you rarely talk on the phone more than 100 minutes a month? As you go, eliminate any companies that are not offering what you need.

    Compare Prices

    To make your final decision about which cellular carriers are going to be best for you, you will want to take a look at prices. Using the plans you built from the step above, go through and find the one with the best price. This is likely the best plan to go with as it is exactly what you want (having built it yourself for your needs) and it is the least expensive of the plans that provide you with what you want. If you have any plans that are equally good, other factors can come into play such as how many people you know currently use that carrier, or the quality of their customer service.

    Regardless of what company you ultimately decide to go with, you can take comfort in the knowledge that using the above guide will help you find the right plan at the right price for your needs.

    Click here to compare cellular carriers and save

  • How To Find The Best Mobile Network For You

    By David

    With all the options available these days, it can be difficult to determine which of the many cellular carriers has the best mobile network. Things change so frequently and what is considered the best one day may not be the next. Therefore, it is helpful to know how to determine for oneself which network is going to be the best for you.

    Click here to compare mobile networks. Find the plan that is best for you. Free comparison tools.

    Coverage Area

    The first thing to look at when determining the best mobile network is that network’s coverage area. Pretty much any cellular provider you are interested in will have information about their network’s coverage area for you on their website. Typically, this will include a picture of the United States with large colored regions indicating where you can get coverage. Likely, you will find that you are covered where you live, but most networks still have some gaps especially out in the western regions of the United States. While these images are a handy reference tool, they will often not tell you everything you need to know about that network’s coverage and often times includes towers from other companies that can be used to access your carrier’s network, but with additional charges. Make sure you do not fall into one of these areas before you pick a network.

    Click here to compare mobile networks. Find the plan that is best for you. Free comparison tools.

    Connection Speed

    While not terribly important when talking about phone calls or texting, for data users this is very important. When deciding who the best mobile network carrier is for your situation, be sure to compare the available connection speeds and where you can get access to them. Most networks offer a 3G network at this point in all but the most rural settings. This is a decent network speed for most tasks. Still, others offer the faster 4G networks though its availability is still largely restricted to the more heavily populated areas. If you need or want a network with these faster connection speeds check out the different networks that cover where you live, to see what is being offered in your area.

    Mobile Phone Compatibility

    Because different cellular networks use different technologies to accomplish their communications between phones and towers, you can run into compatibility issues with certain phones, especially those carried over from other networks. If you have an old phone that you still want to use or there is a specific model of phone that you would like to get, you may find that this limits your options to a degree. You will want to find out what type of network your phone is built to use, before making any decisions about what the best mobile network for you is going to be. Of course, as always, even if you find that the phone you have and network you want use compatible technologies, be sure to check with the carrier before assuming your phone will work on their network.

    By following the steps above you can rule out those networks that just do not have what you need and find the best mobile network for your specific and unique personal situation.

    Click here to compare mobile networks. Find the plan that is best for you. Free comparison tools.

  • How To Find The Best Mobile Family Plan

    By David

    Many people are not sure how to get started when looking for the best mobile family plan. With all the options available, each with different features and rates, it can be confusing, especially to someone new to the world of cell phones. To help you find the best plan for your family here is a simple three-step guide to choosing the best mobile family plan.

    Click here to compare mobile family plans and save

    Coverage Area

    The first thing to consider when shopping for the best mobile family plan is the coverage area of each company. Many of the companies may be offering great deals, but if their network does not work where you live or in places that you frequent then you should rule it out immediately. This way you can know that whatever plan you choose is going to work for all the members of your family.

    Match Needs to Features

    The next step in determining the best mobile family plan for your family is to determine what your needs are. If you have some long winded talkers in your family, you will want a plan with a great deal or even unlimited minutes, to avoid overage bills. If you or any family members texts a lot, perhaps look into unlimited texting, and if you like to do some web browsing on the go, you should be sure to include a data plan that will cover the whole family. You will also want to decide at this point on extra perks that you would like to have with your plan, but that are not absolutely vital. This could include things like free night and weekend minutes or free phones for each line on your plan. For this step you will want to consult with your family and determine what each person is going to need, add them all together, and try to find a plan that accommodates all of them. Once you have decided what you are looking for, rule out those companies that are not offering it and proceed to the last step.

    Click here to compare mobile family plans and save

    Compare Prices

    The final step in finding the best mobile family plan is to compare prices on the plans that are still in the running. While this may seem like a fairly simple task, you will want to remember that some of the plans will offer those additional perks you’d like to have, but typically at a higher cost. Deciding if they are worth it to you is actually one of the most difficult parts of this process, but a necessary one to get you the best plan for the best price. Once you have a plan in mind, present it to your family to make sure that everyone is satisfied with what you are getting. If not, work with them to consider alternatives. If so just head to the chosen companies website and sign up for your new mobile family plan.

    Now that you know how to find the best mobile family plan for your family, start your research, find, discuss, and decide on a plan with your family.

    Click here to compare mobile family plans and save