Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!gem.mps.ohio-state.edu!brutus.cs.uiuc.edu!usc!henry.jpl.nasa.gov!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!gryphon!vector!telecom-gateway From: john@zygot.ati.com (John Higdon) Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom Subject: Re: 800 Rates Message-ID: Date: 19 Nov 89 18:21:41 GMT Sender: news@vector.Dallas.TX.US Organization: Green Hills and Cows Lines: 30 Approved: telecom-request@vector.dallas.tx.us X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@vector.dallas.tx.us X-TELECOM-Digest: volume 9, issue 523, message 3 of 10 In article , eli@ursa-major.spdcc. com writes: > Do all carriers charge in .1 second increments for 800 numbers? I > just got my first 800 bill from US Sprint -- half of the calls were > for 1 cent or 4 cents! It's cheaper to call cross-country with their > 800 service than it is to dial in-state with NYNEX, at least for > short calls, which I often do to check voice mail. The smallest increment in billing that I have ever heard of is .1 minutes, or six seconds. My full state 800 number with AT&T bills in this manner. As far as the amazement goes about calls across the nation costing less than calls across the state, Californians have been up in arms about this fact of life for decades. As far as I can determine, the most expensive call in the US is one from San Diego to Crescent City. It matters not which carrier you select, they all charge some ultra-rip-off rate. This is our great Public Utilities Commission at work. The only benefit an intra-state call enjoys is that the "night" rate applies all day on Sunday, even after 5 PM. John Higdon | P. O. Box 7648 | +1 408 723 1395 john@zygot.ati.com | San Jose, CA 95150 | M o o ! [Moderator's Note: See the final message in the Digest today regarding '700 Intra-Area Code' service from Telecom*USA. This may be a way for some people to save on some intrastate calls. PT]