johnl@esegue.segue.boston.ma.us (John R. Levine) (09/07/90)
There are now at least four different ways to call the US from the
United Kingdom and bill the call to a US calling card. The rates are
all about the same though I was suprised to discover that AT&T USA
Direct costs more than calling through the UK overseas operator.
Who Access Number Rates
MCI 0800-89-0222 $3.36 for the first minute, then 89 cents/min
Sprint 0800-89-0877 $5.30 for 3 mins, then 94 cents/min
BT via UK operator $5.35 for 3 mins, then 94 cents/min
AT&T 0800-89-0011 $3.70 for the first minute, then 94 cents/min
For MCI, Sprint, and AT&T, you use your US calling card number from
that carrier. For BT, you use the international version (the one that
starts 1M) of your AT&T number. Some of the rates are expressed as
$N-2 for the first minute plus a $2 calling card surcharge, but I've
normalized them. There are no time-of-day discounts. In many cases,
particularly if it is before 7AM or after 1PM in the US, it is cheaper
for the person in the US to call back after the initial period is
over.
Sprint says this is their first and so far their only inbound
international service.
Regards,
John Levine, johnl@esegue.segue.boston.ma.us, {spdcc|ima|world}!esegue!johnl