No sooner had AT&T announced a $5.00 a month cut in its VoIP service effective Friday, than Vonage Holdings dropped its VoIP monthly charge by $5.00, thereby remaining $5.00 below AT&T’s charge.
With the new prices, AT&T’s monthly charge is $29.99, while Vonage’s price is $24.99. Both services are similar, offering local and long-distance service in the U.S. and Canada, in addition to a host of advanced features, such as call forwarding, which can be managed over users’ PCs.
«Over the past five months, we’ve noticed a trend in the industry away from calling certain minutes local and others long distance,» said Vonage chairman and CEO Jeffrey Citron, in a statement. «In an IP world, distance is irrelevant, so we have changed our calling plans to reflect that.»
[ read more ]
Vonage Holdings Corp. on Thursday announced it is slashing the price of its unlimited local and
long-distance calling plan by $5 to $24.99.
Vonage, the broadband phone company, also announced plans to move all the customers subscribing to Unlimited Local -- a $24.99 unlimited local calling plan with 500 minutes of long-distance service -- to Premium Unlimited, the package that offers unlimited local and long-distance calling in Canada and the United States.
[ read more ]
SALEM — Southern Oregon residents will ring in
[ toll-free>>>>
] calling this weekend. The change approved by the Oregon Public Utility Commission means residents will be able to make unlimited calls throughout Jackson, Josephine and a portion of Douglas counties for a fixed monthly fee. Currently residents pay long distance rates for these calls.
The new region includes 150,762 access lines, 18 southern Oregon exchanges and involves four telephone companies: Qwest, Sprint, Citizens and Verizon. The scope of the region was recommended to the Commission by a task force of 14-southern Oregon residents chaired by Shayne Maxwell.
«This new service is a positive for everyone — business, government and individuals,» said Governor Ted Kulongoski. «With expanded telephone service at a lesser-cost, businesses can expand their region of service, consumers have more options to choose from, and families in Southern Oregon can stay connected with their friends and loved-ones without the burden of long-distance phone bills .»
Most of the customers in this area will see their monthly bill increase by less than $1 to make unlimited calls within the region, plus, residents will only have to dial 7 digits for calls within the newly created region.
[ read more ]
Receiving the ceremonial first call from Toledo without
long-distance charges are (from left) Dr. George Boehlert, director of the Hatfield Marine Science Center, and board members of the Economic Development Alliance of Lincoln County which sponsored the effort to end
long-distance charges between Toledo and South Beach: Dr. Pat O’Connor, president of Oregon Coast Community College; Chris Chandler DiTorrice, executive director; Commissioner John Mare’, Port of Alsea; and Central Lincoln PUD board member Curt Abbott, who also chairs the Alliance’s Telecommunications Committee.
Tomorrow is the long-awaited day for the formal end of long-distance toll calling between several Lincoln County communities: South Beach to and from Depoe Bay, Gleneden Beach, Lincoln City, and Toledo; and Lincoln City to and from Siletz.
Phone customers in Lincoln City, Siletz, South Beach and Toledo were pleasantly surprised last Friday, when phone company technicians «threw the switches» early, and seven-digit dialing between Toledo and South Beach; and Siletz and Lincoln City began. Ceremonial first calls between those communities were held to celebrate.
[ read more ]
By Richard Leitner
News Staff
A Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board trustee is hoping to convince his colleagues to review their ward representation for the next election.
Ian Thompson, whose wards 11 and 12 stretch from Winona through Glanbrook to the furthest reaches of Ancaster, said he believes a review is needed to better reflect geographic proximity and changes in schools and population.
Until recently, his constituents in Winona had to call long distance to reach him, he said — a situation he resolved by moving to Ward 5.
«If I lived in Ancaster, people in Winona would have to phone long distance to call me. So it’s not fair to people to pay those bills,» said Mr. Thompson, who jumped to his current post last election after being acclaimed as Dundas trustee in 2000.
[ read more ]
