As stated in our last newsletter, the purpose of the AT&T break up and the decisions following the break up was to promote competition in the telecommunications industry. I stated last month that SBC was denied the opportunity to enter into the long distance market in the state of Illinois in August of 2003.
There has been a change. In October that decision was reversed. I believe we can expect a barrage of advertisements offering lower rates and most likely offers of unlimited local and long distance calls for both the residential and business customers. So when everyone has lower prices or equal with unlimited calls for the same price, who should win your loyalty? The level of service you receive is the next factor to consider. Reliability of line service, ease of reading the monthly bill, telephone customer service and point of contact are questions that will determine the level of service you get.
Talk America has been rated number one in customer satisfaction by

J.D.Power and Associates in the Midwest region. Talk America like others offer packages to both the residential and business users. We have packages with unlimited local, long distance or both or low rates as low as 3.9 cents a minute with 6 second increments. To check what package is best for you, either call us at Active Telephone & Data or visit our website and click on ‘Customer Services’ then ‘Talk America’ and answer 5 easy questions.
November 24 marks another big day for the communications consumer. As of November 24 cellular customers are able to switch carriers without giving up their telephone number. This is called ‘number portability’ which has already been available with your land line service. Since this will make it easier for consumers to voice their opinion regarding the level of service they receive by switching carriers, I believe cellular carriers will be offering great deals to get you to switch over to their service.