Telephone game

Put aside for a moment the idea that Maine telephone owners could save money under in-state competition among carriers — saving money is important, but it is not the only thing. Consider what has happened in long distance service, think of the many advertisements, the beseeching phone solicitations, the complex rate deals. This competition is said to promote efficiency. Is everybody happy?

Come Sept. 15, at least 16 telephone companies will no longer be forced to require customers to use a five-digit access code to make in-state toll calls and so will be able to better compete with NYNEX. The change will bring more competition, allowing phone users choice but, as with long distance calls beyond the state’s borders, it also will mean more decisions about which carrier offers the best product. In the end, the savings may be worth the aggravation. Meanwhile, consumers need to know more about phone charges.

The best way for consumers to handle the coming competition, according to Phil Lindley of the Public Utilities Commission, is to ask lots of questions. They should ask carriers about rates for different numbers of calls, at different hours and distances. Consumers need to know about products such as NYNEX’s Pine Tree State off-peak pricing plan and the PUC-designed Circle Calling, which offers a lower rate within a 30-mile radius of a caller.

The Maine Public Advocate’s Office also can help out. It is compiling a comparison rate chart for the top dozen competitors for in-state toll calls. The chart is expected to be ready by the September startup date. (To get a copy of the chart, call the advocate’s office at 287-2445.) Though the solicitation could be as confusing as the one being waged by the out-of-state carriers, there are a couple of things consumers can do to protect themselves.

First, they can tell marketers to take their names off the call list. That should keep the number of calls down. Second, they can avoid being slammed. Slamming is a practice in which a rival phone company informs a major carrier that a customer has switched to the rival when that is not the case. To prevent this, customers can ask their carriers to freeze their PIC (primary interexchange carrier) code. That stops a customer from being switched unless he or she submits written permission to a carrier.

Expect the competition to warm up in the next few weeks, and let’s hope the savings make the added effort worthwhile.