Web winners
Wise shoppers take time now and then to figure out if they are getting the best deal on long-distance phone service. The Web offers many ways to compare costs and keep tabs on the industry.
There are lots of rate-comparison sites out there. The site works at being unbiased, but admits it is paid by phone companies when users click through and sign up for new plans. Consumer advice and suggestions for stopping telemarketer calls and junk mail are among its many features.
The Federal Communications Commission offers a guide to evaluating long-distance plans. Most important, it explains how to file a complaint with the commission.
The Discount Long Distance Digest, an online newsletter about the industry, has up-to-date warnings about misleading practices by some providers and features a Hall of Shame for the most outrageous companies.
A group called SETI, or “Search for ExtraTerrestrial Intelligence,” is trying to answer the ultimate long-distance call. Read about the group and its efforts here.