From newsletter@abtolls.com Tue Jul 31 17:10:54 2001 From: newsletter@abtolls.com (newsletter@abtolls.com) Date: Tue, 31 Jul 2001 12:10:54 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [ABTolls.com-free-newsletter] Univance/Isterra/Sprint/ATN/Excel/AT&T/MCI/Qwest Message-ID: -------------- July 30, 2001 -------------- Welcome to the new format of the ABTolls newsletter! Let us start off by apologizing for the long silence for the past two months on the newsletter front. The company we were using to operate the newsletter (listbot) has decided to stop providing the service to the internet community. So we have been working on getting the newsletter list transitioned to a new system. We have now completed the transition, and are ready to update you on everything for the past 2 months! A lot of updates! You might also notice a new look and feel to the website. Justin has been hard at work redesigning the pages taking into account a lot of your feedback. The 3 of us have also been working diligently on transitioning the backend of our database to a new database system that promises to make many new features possible shortly - stay tuned, as there are exciting new features coming VERY soon! --------------------------- In this newsletter --------------------------- 1) Univance lowers rates (interstate and intrastate in some states) and ups USF 2) New rate plan from Isterra - very low rates in certain markets 3) Interstate rate drops on all Isterra plans, monthly fee added. 4) Sprint raises USF from 9.6 to 9.9% and adds new "Property Tax Recovery Fee" 5) ATN raises USF 6) ATN raises rates to mobile phones in certain countries 7) Excel Telco 10-10-457 raises USF and adds per call surcharge 8) Excel Telco 10-10-297 raises USF and adds per call surcharge 9) AT&T Lucky Dog 10-10-345 raises per call surcharge 10)MCI Worldcom Telecom USA 10-10-321 raises rates 11)Two new MCI Worldcom plans: "12 cents" and "All Week" 12)10-10-432 raises rates and increases minimum 13)AT&T raises basic rates 14)Tell a friend about ABTolls - you can win $10,000 and other prizes 15)Newsletter archives +------------------------------------------------------------------+ Discounted European Rail Passes: http://flyaow.com/raileurope.htm +------------------------------------------------------------------+ ------------------------------------------------------------------ 1)Univance lowers rates (interstate and intrastate in some states) and ups USF ------------------------------------------------------------------ Univance has announced a new lower rate plan which now offers interstate base rates in the Continental U.S. of 4.9 cents 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The plan also features some lower intrastate rates in certain states as well compared with their previous plans. Each call has a 30 second minimum with 6 second billing after that. The plan has a USF fee slightly above industry average of 8.25% and a monthly fee of $3.00. The plan is only available if your local phone service is provided by a Regional Bell Operating Company. Some excellent international rates are available on the plan as well, such as a base rate of 9.9 cents a minute to Japan, 7.9 cents a minute to Germany, 6.9 cents a minute to France, and 52.9 cents to India. Please note that calls to mobile phones in certain countries have very high surcharges though. Full details available at: http://abtolls.com/plans/Univance4.9.html ------------------------------------------------------------------ 2)New rate plan from Isterra - very low rates in certain markets ------------------------------------------------------------------ Isterra has released a new rate plan that offers some extremely low rates in certain markets. It features an interstate base rate in the Continental U.S. of 4.9 cents 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Each call has only a 6 second minimum, with 6 second billing increments after that. There is an average USF fee of 7%, and a monthly fee of $2.00. They have just announced that once your account is established you can get the monthly fee of $2.00 waived by signing up for online billing. Some of the very attractive pricing for the plan includes calls within California for 3.49 cents a minute, and calls within Connecticut for 3.49 cents a minute. On the international front it offers some excellent rates to certain markets, such as a base rate of 8 cents a minute to Austria, 23 cents a minute to China, 24 cents to the Philippines, and 9 cents a minute to Singapore. Please note that calls to mobile phones in certain countries have very high surcharges. Full details available at: http://abtolls.com/plans/IsterraSpectraW917.html ------------------------------------------------------------------ 3)Interstate rate drops on all Isterra plans, monthly fee added. ------------------------------------------------------------------ Isterra also announced a drop in interstate base rates on its previous rate plans to 4.9 cents while adding a $2.00 monthly fee. They just recently announced that you can get the $2.00 fee waived by agreeing to online billing. If you are an existing customer of Isterra we recommend you verify your current rate plan with them and check to see if the rates can be lowered to 4.9 interstate base. ------------------------------------------------------------------ 4)Sprint raises USF from 9.6 to 9.9% and adds new "Property Tax Recovery Fee" ------------------------------------------------------------------ Sprint has announced an increase in its USF fee from 9.6% to 9.9% and also has added a new carrier specific fee called "Property Tax Recovery Fee." As far as we know Sprint is the only carrier currently charging this fee, and we have been unable to get a good answer as to what it is supposed to cover. We have upped the carrier specific percentage charge for all Sprint plans in our database to 10.98% to take into account this additional 1.08% fee. Please check your Sprint bills carefully for any new fees, and we encourage you to inquire with Sprint customer service about the reason behind the fees. If you get any interesting information on them, please do let us know via e-mail! ------------------------------------------------------------------ 5)ATN raises USF ------------------------------------------------------------------ ATN has announced an increase in its USF fee to an above industry average 12%. Their plan still has only an 18 second minimum call length and 6 second billing increments along with no monthly fee and an interstate base rate in the Continental U.S. of 6.9 cents a minute 24 hours a day. The biggest attraction of their plan in our eyes is the no monthly fee calling card which has an interstate base rate of 14.9 cents a minute. It is a good card to keep for emergencies as you only get billed for usage. Full details available at: http://abtolls.com/plans/ATNTTIULTRAcallResidential.html ------------------------------------------------------------------ 6)ATN raises rates to mobile phones in certain countries ------------------------------------------------------------------ We have received reports that ATN has followed the lead of many other companies and increased rates to mobile phones in certain countries. We are working on confirming their current rates to mobile phones internationally and will update the database with new information shortly. We encourage current ATN customers that make calls to mobile phones in other countries to verify your rates directly with ATN customer service prior to making any additional calls. +------------------------------------------------------------------+ Last minute INTERNET ONLY airline ticket DISCOUNTS http://flyaow.com/hotwire.htm Some recent fares booked: New York-LA $204, SF-Chicago $208 +------------------------------------------------------------------+ ------------------------------------------------------------------ 7)Excel Telco 10-10-457 raises USF and adds per call surcharge ------------------------------------------------------------------ Excel Telco's 10-10-457 dial-around has raised its USF fee to a flat fee of $1.12 per month. The plan is loaded with additional fees including a 15 cents per call surcharge for domestic calls, and a 40 cent per call surcharge for international calls. Each call has a minimum call length of 5 minutes as well, with 1 minute billing after the first 5 minutes. So if you make a single domestic interstate call during the day for 1 minute at the advertised rate of 10 cents per minute your bill will actually be 50 cents for the 5 minute minimum, plus 15 cents for the per call surcharge, plus $1.12 for the monthly USF fee for a grand total of $1.77 for the call. Full details of the plan available at: http://abtolls.com/plans/ExcelTelcoDial&Save-(10-10-457).html ------------------------------------------------------------------ 8)Excel Telco 10-10-297 raises USF and adds per call surcharge ------------------------------------------------------------------ Excel Telco's 10-10-297 dial-around has also raised its fees similar to the 10-10-497 plan. They now have a flat USF fee of $1.12 per month, a 15 cents per call surcharge for domestic calls, and a 40 cent per call surcharge for international calls. Each call is billed in 1 minute increments. So a single domestic interstate call anytime of day for 1 minute at the advertised rate of 10 cents per minute will result in a bill of 10 cents for the 1 minute, 15 cents surcharge for the call, plus $1.12 for the monthly USF fee for a grand total of $1.37 for the call. Full details of the plan available at: http://abtolls.com/plans/ExcelTelcoChoiceDialaround-(10-10-297).html ------------------------------------------------------------------ 9)AT&T Lucky Dog 10-10-345 raises per call surcharge ------------------------------------------------------------------ AT&T's Lucky Dog 10-10-345 dial-around has raised its per call surcharge to 15 cents per call. The plan has 1 minute billing increments, and 10 cents per minute interstate base rate. They claim to have no USF fees and only to charge taxes on top of the calling volume and per call surcharges. If you have used the 10-10-345 dial-around recently, please let us know if you did in fact not receive a charge for USF in the tax and other fees portion of your bill. Full details available at: http://abtolls.com/plans/AT&TLuckyDog(10-10-345).html ------------------------------------------------------------------ 10)MCI Worldcom Telecom USA 10-10-321 raises rates ------------------------------------------------------------------ MCI Worldcom has raised the rates on its 10-10-321 program to 18 cents a minute for interstate calls in the Continental U.S. under 10 minutes. Calls over 10 minutes now have a base rate of 9 cents a minute. Prices for calls within your state vary, and tend towards the high side. Full details at: http://abtolls.com/plans/MCIWorldcomTelecomUSA(10-10-321).html ------------------------------------------------------------------ 11)Two new MCI Worldcom plans: "12 cents" and "All Week" ------------------------------------------------------------------ MCI Worldcom has announced 2 new rate plans. MCIWorldcom Twelve Cents Anytime offers a base interstate rate in the Continental U.S. of 12 cents a minute 24 hours a day with a $5 monthly minimum usage. It has an above industry average USF of 12%. Calls within the state tend towards the high side with the majority of states having rates of either 10 or 14 cents a minute. The MCIWorldcom All Week plan offers an interstate base rate in the Continental U.S. of 10 cents a minute during weekdays and 5 cents a minute weekday evenings and weekends. There is a $4.95 monthly fee, and calls are billed in full minute increments. Within state rates in most states are rather high, with many states have an in-state rate of either 10 or 14 cents. The plan also has an above industry average USF of 12%, which is also charged on the monthly fee. Full details at: http://abtolls.com/plans/MCIWorldcomTwelveCentsAnytime.html http://abtolls.com/plans/MCIWorldcomAllWeek.html ------------------------------------------------------------------ 12)10-10-432 raises rates and increases minimum ------------------------------------------------------------------ Qwest's 10-10-432 dial-around has raised rates to 16 cents per minute for interstate calls in the Continental U.S. There is a 3 minute minimum per call, and a USF of 8.3%, as well as a per call surcharge of 25 cents. We have heard that the USF will be raised to 9.9% shortly, and we are awaiting confirmation of this. Full details at: http://abtolls.com/plans/QWESTDialAround(10-10-432).html ------------------------------------------------------------------ 13)AT&T raises basic rates ------------------------------------------------------------------ AT&T has raised its rates on the Basic Rate Plan. The AT&T Basic Rate plan is what many senior citizens still utilize. If you never changed your long distance service after deregulation there is a good chance you are on this rate plan. Also, if you casually dial the AT&T dial-around code of 10-10-288 there is a good chance you will get rates from the Basic Rate plan. The new rates are 30 cents a minute during weekdays, 25 cents a minute weekday evenings, and 16 cents a minute all weekend. There is a 9.9% USF charge as well. Details at: http://abtolls.com/plans/AT&TBasicRates.html ------------------------------------------------------------------ 14) Tell a friend about ABTolls - you can win $10,000 and other prizes ------------------------------------------------------------------ Recommend-It is offering users of ABTolls an opportunity to win $10,000 and other prizes, by telling your friends about ABTolls. The Recommend-It service will send emails to up to ten (10) of your friends or colleagues detailing the offerings of ABTolls, with an optional personal note from you. You help out your friends by letting them know about the services of ABTolls, you help us out by spreading the word, and if you happen to win the contest you can help yourself too! Full details available at: http://abtolls.com/recommend.html ------------------------------------------------------------------ 15) Newsletter archives ------------------------------------------------------------------ If you have found this newsletter useful, please pass it along to a friend. If you want to read past newsletters, or add another e-mail address, or stop your subscription please visit: http://abtolls.com/newsletter.html Happy phoning! Justin, Marc-David, and Scott The 3 "ABTolls Guys" http://abtolls.com/ +------------------------------------------------------------------+ Save up to 70% on Condo Vacation Rentals: http://flyaow.com/condorentaldiscounts.htm +------------------------------------------------------------------+