Fighting subscriptions III: Communications - land-line phones
Last week Fidelity Observer introduced a series on fighting subscription costs. I first discussed entertainment-related subscriptions -- telephone, Internet, and publishing (television and radio are grouped under entertainment).
Today I will start my discussion of communications-related subscriptions, and how you can reduce the costs involved, starting with ordinary-land line telephones (mobile phones, internet charges, and publishing subscriptions will come later).
Telephone subscriptions are the most common communication subscriptions, with most households having at least one fixed line and likely at least one mobile phone subscription as well.
Traditional telephone companies have had a lucrative racket going for many years. Looking at my own Comcast phone bill, I see the following monthly charges:
Residential Line: $18
Non-local in-state service: $1
International plan: $3
Two-feature charge: $6
"Subscriber Line Charge": $6.44
"Universal Connectivity Charge": $1
Taxes and surcharges: $2.34
This comes to almost $38, and doesn't include individual charges for in-state or international calls. Over the course of one year, this base land line subscription comes to more than $450. I've lived in my current house for just under five years, and have paid more than $2000 in base phone charges in that time -- not including in-state, long-distance, or international calls!
It is not unreasonable to assume many households have phone services that cost a lot more than $450, especially if lots of international calls or multiple mobile phones are involved.
But it doesn't have to be this way.
For basic land-line service, you can't get rid of the "subscriber line charge" and taxes, but you can certainly pare down little-used or unnecessary add-ons. Voice mail through Comcast costs $60/year, but you can buy a new telephone with a digital answering machine and message saver for about $20 -- the model I have lets me access the messages remotely, just like real voice mail.
The "Two-feature package" is a real ripoff. Comcast knows most people don't care about call waiting, but need Caller ID to screen for telemarketers and unwanted callers. They therefore "bundle" them together, forcing you to pay $72 for a service that costs them next to nothing to operate. I pay the fee because I can't stand telemarketers, but cutting my "Two-feature package" would save $72 per year.
For international phone calls, we use those phone cards that are sold in convenience stores. Immigrants swear by them, and no wonder -- a $5 phone card gives us three hours of talk time to Asia, where we call a few times every month.
However, we still keep the in-state phone service and international service. I work outside of our home's local calling area, and we have several elderly relatives who live abroad, and don't want to depend on phone cards or mobile phones if there's an emergency or need to make sure the connection is clear.
We also don't want to discard the land line in favor of a mobile phone -- God forbid there's a fire or other emergency, and we can't find the phone, the battery is dead, or we have to wait for a good signal.
In the next installment, I'll pass along some tips for cutting mobile phone charges.
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Today Fidelity Observer continues the discussion about cutting subscription costs -- this time, those mobile phone plans that cost most of us at least $360 per year, and some well over $1000/year. Read
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This is the second installment of my series on subscriptions, and how they can be reduced or better managed to save you money. Read
Why don't you go with a cellphone? I dont know if you are aware of this, but all cellphones must have 911 service available even if your bill isnt paid in full. If you have a fire or earthquake at your house your real wired telephone may not even work, but you can always grab your cellphone, and right there thats a reason to dump Comcast.
Another reason to switch is caller ID. Its included in the cell phone plan I have for free. So right there you would save $6 a month.
Good points about the mobile phone advantages, especially relating to emergency services. I still can't get over the idea, however, that a mobile phone is better than a land line in case of an emergency. A land line you can just pick up and works right away. A mobile phone takes a little time to power up and find a signal.
Another issue for us is we use dial-up modem service for Internet connectivity, and I don't think a mobile phone would work -- besides connecting the mobile phone with our computer, there is the issue of signal quality interfering with Internet connectivity, and of course, paying for all those minutes. Anyone out there use a mobile phone to connect their computer to the Internet?
FO you can do this. Your computer and phone both need Bluetooth. If your phone is GPRS and has Web access, you can cancel your ISP and get very fast connection and transfer speeds BUT the cell service provider will probably charge you a data transfer rate. If its a GSM Bluetooth phone, keep the ISP but there might be some data quality loss.
Thanks undefined, for the reminder about wired phones keeping DC power even if the electricity goes out. It's not common knowledge, but phone lines carry a low-voltage power level in addition to voice communications, and if the electricity goes out, your non-cordless wired phone *should* still work ... I am wondering, however, if that's the case for "digital phone services," like I currently have for Comcast.
Mac Addict: Thanks for the update on mobile phones and Internet service. I don't think my own computer (a two year old Mac) has Bluetooth, but in any case I know our two phones definitely don't have Bluetooth. I am not sure about GSM vs. GPRS. One is a 2000-era Nokia, the other a newer model, but it doesn't have a color screen or any other special features.
More on mobile phones in the next installment on fighting subscriptions ....
There is something on Boston.com today about Verizon cutting phone rates. They hav e a new plan that costs 35 dollars a month for unlimited U.S. calling,b ut there is no caller id or voicemail.
I went with Sunrock - a VOIP service that costs $199 per year. It averages out to $16 and change per month and comes with all the extras - voicemail, callerID, call waiting, callerID call waiting. It even gives you an extra number for any area in the US - say you live in California but grew up in the midwest. You can have a california number as well as a midwest number - that way when your mom or dad, or aunt sally picks up her phone in the midwest, she can dial a local number and still get you at home.
This service even includes great international rates to everywhere and gives you a $3.00 credit a month for international calls. I think calls to Mexico, Canada, and Puerto Rico are all free. Not sure about this though.
I did this over my cable modem - a 2nd hand one I bought on Amazon for about $20. The internet service I got from my local cable company is $25 per month. (It wasn't advertised, I had to call for it.)
Net cost including taxes, etc, is just under $42 and that includes phone and internet.
