Local Telephone Calculators

Bundled Local & Long Distance Phone Service Best Rate Calculators**

To compare rate estimates for local dial tone and long distance in a bundle for one low monthly fee in seconds, enter your 10-digit phone number:

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Make sure your new service is installed before canceling your old local service!

	- - XXXX Residential Business	Cleartel Residential and Business Voice Solutions Providing local phone service Residential and Business customers in the Northeast, Southeast, Southwest, and Midwestern United States, with a full suite of phone services, calling features, and superior customer support since 1994.
	Residential Service Only:	PowerNet Global Local Service - and Long Distance Residential local dial tone service in parts of CA, FL, GA, IN, KY, MA, MD, MI, NJ, NY, OH, TX, VA, and WI. (More states will be added soon.) Local and long distance appears on one bill, with three packages to choose from!
Residential Business - -		Talk America Bundled Service Local and long distance services to residential and small business customers using proprietary real-time online billing. Talk America bundled services expanded to new states, so try your phone number and see whether your location is included.
	Business Service Only: - -	Trinsic / Z-Tel - Bundled, unlimited and voicemail services Local and long distance bundled phone service for a low monthly payment. Toll free service and DSL available.
	Residential Service Only: - -

Local and Bundled FAQ What if I'm outside the United States of America? From whom do I lease my phone? What about VOIP local phone service? What if I only want to change local phone service? What if I don't already have a local phone line, or my current phone is cellular? What if I have DSL? What if I have Universal Lifeline Service? What is Universal Lifeline Service? How do comparison shopping calculators work? Why isn't my current provider included? How can I get my current provider to offer me better rates? What taxes and fees will local service cost? Should I cancel my old phone account? Do phone companies always charge the same rate shown on the calculators? What if I don't receive the Customer Support Info or a Confirmation Email from the phone company? What if my PIC is Frozen? What is a Redirected Form? CompetingPrices.com™ Privacy Policy Can I republish information I find here? How can I add my phone company to CompetingPrices.com™ Calculators? Can I provide the same public service? Who is CompetingPrices.com™? CompetingPrices.com™ in the News Can I link to CompetingPrices.com™?

This web site was designed by a Digital Media, E-Commerce, and Networking student at College of the Redwoods as a community service. I gratefully welcome your feedback about this web site.  Please .

Local and Bundled Phone Service FAQ

What if I only want to change my local phone service?

You will probably have to accept a bundled plan that includes long distance service. Make sure that your new bundled service does not place you under contract to keep the long distance service that is bundled with your local phone service. Once the bundled account is established, the long distance carrier of your choice will be happy to switch your long distance to their service.

What if I'm outside the United States of America?

Even though there are numerous international long distance carriers participating in the Price Comparison Shopping Calculators, there are no local phone services from outside the United States participating at this time.

From whom do I lease my phone?

Leasing the phone from your local phone company went out of style in the 1980s, and a typical one-year lease costs more than purchasing a much nicer phone that will last several years. If you really are still using that clunky old black thing with the rotary dial that would break your toe if you dropped it, at least go to a yard sale, splurge a buck or three, and upgrade to something that you can hold in your hand and will speed-dial your friends for you.

What if I don't already have a local phone line, or my current phone is cellular or VOIP?

If your local phone company denies you service due to an unpaid bill or credit rating, it is unlikely any other local phone company will offer you service, whether you deserve such treatment, or not. In that case, you may be better off obtaining a prepaid phone account.

Otherwise, it should be possible to order a new phone line through Trinsic/Z-Tel, and possibly other, non-participating phone companies.  However, many customers who do so, experience severe delays and poor service because:

1. The line is still installed by the dominant local phone company, (LEC).
2. The local phone company gives their own customers priority for installation service.
3. The local phone company blames incorrectly installed lines upon incorrect order placement by the company through which the lines were ordered.
4. The phone company through which the line is ordered also refuses to take responsibility, because they did not do the incorrect installation. (Beware of Standard Corporate Policy: "The customer is always wrong.")

Therefore, CompetingPrices.com™ suggests that you order your new phone line through the LEC, (dominant local provider), local phone company, and then switch to the local phone company of your choice when you are satisfied that the phone line is correctly installed. Meanwhile, you can research the availabilty of local phone service by finding the correct area code and prefix for your location, and faking the last four digits, bearing in mind that since it isn't really your phone number, you cannot use the result to place an order.

With that information in your possession, if you still wish to order service for a location where you do not currently have a phone number, you may call Trinsic / Z-Tel Toll-Free at:

1(877)504-8067, using AgentID 97634 and SubagentID 14209.

What if I have DSL?

If you have a DSL line, you will need to cancel the DSL service before you can transfer your local phone service to a different company. You may reinstate DSL service afterward, if your new local phone company offers it. As of this writing, Trinsic/Z-Tel is the only participating company doing so.

However, you may still choose any type of broadband service that is available to your location, and have it installed as a separate line.

What if I have Universal Lifeline Service?

You will lose your Universal Lifeline status when you change to a different local phone carrier, so you probably are better off to keep your Universal Lifeline local telephone account. To save more money, try comparing long distance carriers.

What is Universal Lifeline Service?

Universal Lifeline Service is a deeply discounted local telephone service available only to households with income below a poverty threshold. It's subsidized by a federal tax on phone service. This threshold and the cost of the service varies from one location to another, so if you want to know the particulars, contact your current or dominant local phone service provider.

**PLEASE NOTE: Due to periodic price adjustments by local phone carriers, rate comparison calculations are for comparison purposes only. While we attempt to keep the calculator as up-to-date as possible, Cognigen Networks, Inc. and CompetingPrices.com™ are not responsible for rate variances. Calls to cellular phones and other high cost destinations within certain countries may cost a substantially higher rate. Please see each individual provider for complete details. State-to-State assumes calling within lower 48 states. Use the International Call Calculator to compare costs for calls to Alaska and Hawaii.

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