Your Money : Proposed Toll Call Cuts Are Uneven

An analysis of proposed reductions in toll call rates, tentatively approved last week by the state Public Utilities Commission, shows that the amount you can expect to save varies depending on when you place a toll call and how far it travels.

The PUC said rates for toll calls--those that travel more than 12 miles--would drop an average of 40%. A review of the proposal shows the cuts are not distributed evenly, though. Daytime rates are cut more substantially than evening or nighttime rates. Reductions are deeper for calls going farther.

We found that while rates for some daytime calls will drop by more than 60%, charges for other calls--mostly nearby, nighttime calls--will rise by more than 10%.

Toward Utility Rate Normalization, a San Francisco consumer advocacy group, says the proposed rate structure appears to favor business customers, who make most of their calls during the day, over residential customers, who make most of their calls in off-peak hours.

But Pacific Bell said that without deep cuts in daytime rates, callers would defect to competing toll call carriers. More than half of all toll calls are made during the day, the company said.

“We’ve got to keep that volume up to keep people on the network,” said Michael Miller, Pacific Bell’s vice president for competitive readiness.

TURN said it will ask the PUC to reconsider the rates, as will Pacific Bell, which had requested deeper overall cuts. Meanwhile, long-distance companies are expected to compete aggressively for the business. MCI, for example, has pledged to underprice PacBell by a third.

The PUC said it expects to make a final decision in September. So stay tuned.

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Loose change: The tentative decision by the PUC affects more than just toll call rates. Among other proposed rate changes:

* GTE is raising its directory assistance charge to 35 cents a call from 25 cents. Pacific Bell is lowering its rate to 21 cents per call from 25 cents. Both companies will continue to allow customers five free 411 calls a month.

* GTE is eliminating an $85 sign-up fee that was collected from existing customers ordering inside-wiring maintenance service. The PUC said the fee isn’t justified. Pacific Bell has no sign-up fee.

* GTE is raising the charge for an unpublished number--one that is not in the phone book or available through directory assistance--to $1.50 monthly from 60 cents. It is also creating a new unlisted service, which for $1 monthly omits customers from the phone book but not from directory assistance. Pacific Bell will continue to charge 30 cents a month for unpublished numbers.

* GTE is raising the installation charge for 800-number service to $179.80 from $70, and Pacific Bell is raising its installation charge to $173 from $70. If you ever thought about getting an 800 number to encourage your parents or penniless college-student children to call you, now’s the time. If approved in September as expected, the changes will take effect on Jan. 1, 1995.

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Calling card fees: Toward Utility Rate Normalization recently surveyed rates on five commonly used telephone calling cards.

It found that Pacific Bell had the lowest rate at 35 cents per call, while Sprint had the highest rate at 80 cents per call. AT&T; charges 80 cents for calls outside California, 53 cents for calls in the state.

Rounding out the survey, TURN said GTE charges 40 cents per call while MCI charges 79 cents.

Calling cards allow consumers to bill calls to their home numbers. While the cards are convenient, using one can double the cost of a short telephone call. For example, using a Sprint card for a three-minute daytime call between New York and Los Angeles would push the cost to $1.61 from 81 cents.

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Odds and ends: The consulting firm Runzheimer International reports that the average round-trip domestic air fare fell to $476 in the first quarter of this year, its lowest point since the end of 1992. But the company says the long-term trend is up. . . . Ortho Mattress says it sells a split box spring so couples won’t have to argue over the firmness of their bed. But they’ll still have to argue over shelling out an extra $50 for it.

Changing Phone Rates

The California Public Utilities Commission has tentatively approved an average 40% reduction in toll rates, ushering competition in the so-called local-long distance market. A closer look at the PUC’s proposed decision shows changes in rates vary widely, depending on when the call is placed and the distance it travels. A few rates give the flavor.

For a 5-minute call traveling 21 to 25 miles

Proposed % Change Current PacBell / GTE PacBell / GTE Day 0.89 0.68 / 0.63 24% / 29% down Evening 0.62 0.55 / 0.50 11% / 19% down Night 0.36 0.41 / 0.38 14% / 5% up

For a 5-minute call traveling 41 to 50 miles

Proposed % Change Current PacBell / GTE PacBell / GTE Day $1.34 0.74 / 0.73 45% / 46% down Evening 0.94 0.59 / 0.58 37% / 38% down Night 0.54 0.44 / 0.44 19% / 19% down

Source: Toward Utility Rate Normalization. Day rates in effect 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Evening rates effective 5 to 11 p.m. Night rates effective 11 p.m. to 8 a.m. and on weekends and holidays.