telecom@eecs.nwu.edu (TELECOM Moderator) (04/29/89)
On Friday, MCI Communications Corporation announced a new long distance bulk usage plan for residential phone subscribers. This new offering is designed to provide direct competition to AT&T's Reach Out America Plan. The new plan provides one hour of calling each month between 7 PM and 8 AM weeknights, anywhere (interstate) in the country for $8. Additional hours after the first hour are $6.80, and are pro-rated by the number of minutes used. This is 13.3 cents for the minutes in the first hour, and 11.3 cents per minute in the additional hours. A companion plan is called 'MCI Supersaver' and it allows customers to make interstate calls all day Saturday *only* for five dollars per hour, or 8.3 cents per minute. Comparing this to the AT&T Reach Out Plan we see that -- AT&T does not begin its cheapest rates and residential bulk plan until 10 PM. The new MCI plan gives three extra hours in the evening. Additional hours on the Reach Out Plan are $6.90. Additional hours on MCI's plan will be $6.80. MCI's plan stops at 5 PM Sunday, and does not resume until 7 PM Monday. AT&T's plan stops at 5 PM Sunday also, but resumes at 10 PM Sunday night and gives from then through Monday morning. MCI only offers their plan to customers with one plus dialing; they do not offer it to callers via 10222 or 950-1022. AT&T does permit its Reach Out subscribers to be 'casual callers', via 10288, while keeping some other carrier as one plus. AT&T allows Calling Card and Call Me Card holders to call into the number associated with the Reach Out Plan and be billed at Reach Out rates. No surcharges are added to these calls, provided the number associated with the plan is the number being called (from wherever). MCI says no credit card calls can be tied into their new low rates. This new program from MCI is tarriffed to begin May 1, at 7 PM that evening. They are taking orders now, but YOU must call your local telco to make the conversion to MCI for one plus calling; MCI will no longer do it for you. The person I spoke to in the Chicago area office of MCI seemed rather familiar with this new product, but may have been mistaken on some points (which would cause me to be mistaken in this article), so you may want to double check and see if you can keep AT&T/Sprint as one plus while using MCI's Saturday Supersaver rates via 10222. For various reasons I probably will not switch from AT&T's Reach Out and having them on one plus, but if I could get the Saturday Supersaver via 10222 I would probably sign up and make extensive use of it on Saturday long distance calls. Finally, as a special deal, MCI is giving the first month free of charge. If you take the $8 weekday evening program, you get the first hour of calls -- $8 worth -- free. Likewise the Saturday deal is being given free the first month. Although MCI *still* does not connect to 976 or 1-900 numbers, their line quality is pretty good. The lady I spoke with also offered to send me a Calling Card with the 'Around Town' option allowing local calling with no surcharge. Patrick Townson