January 14, 2004
Consumers will pay more for phone service
from the largest U.S. long-distance company. AT&T is marking
the 20th year of its divestiture with several hikes in minimum
usage requirements.
Subscribers to AT&T's 5¢ eWeekends Plan will be billed a
minimum of $5 per month before fees and taxes, starting
March 1, 2004. Currently there is no minimum usage requirement
on the 5¢ eWeekends service. MCI offers a similar plan called One
Net Savings, which has a $6 monthly minimum, according to Rich
Sayers, who analyzes phone services for 10-10PhoneRates.com
and Phone-bill-alert.com.
"While this AT&T minimum is lower than
MCI's, consumers can get better deals with smaller long-distance
companies that don't require a minimum billing amount,"
says Sayers.
Two other AT&T services will have higher minimum usage
requirements starting in March. AT&T 5¢ Nights Plan and One Rate
10¢ Plan users will be billed a minimum of $7 before fees and taxes,
up from the current $5 minimum. What's more, AT&T long-distance
customers who make at least one out-of-state call are hit with
another 99¢ AT&T Regulatory Assessment Fee.
"So people are on
the hook for at least $8 a month because AT&T doesn't count its
fee toward minimum usage," adds Sayers.
This month AT&T added another new fee affecting about 10 million
consumers. Subscribers to AT&T's "Basic Rate" plan pay a $3.95
monthly fee starting in January, 2004. AT&T also reduced the rate
for weekend state-to-state calls on that Basic Rate plan.
For more
details, refer to the consumer alert available online at
http://10-10phonerates.com/news/nov_24_2003.html
"This January has been an unusually quiet month in regard to
phone rates and fees," notes Sayers. "Watch for moves by MCI
and Sprint later in the quarter."
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