Local Phone Service – Frequently Asked Questions

Everything you ever wanted to know about local phone service.

How can smaller companies resell local telephone service?

Due to the Telecommunications Act of 1996, smaller companies are allowed to purchase service from other larger phone service providers at a wholesale price and sell it to you at a discount. These smaller telephone service providers are also called Local Exchange Carriers (LECs). The larger telecommunications companies discount the phone service to the LECs because the resellers handle the sales, customer service, and billing.

What is local toll calling, and how is it billed?

Local toll refers to calls that are too far from your home to be considered local, but not far enough to be long distance. Usually, your local phone company bills these calls on a per-minute basis. In most parts of the country, however, you can now choose to have a different service provider just for your local toll calling. For advice on choosing local toll phone service, read Switching Local Toll and Long Distance Carriers.

What is Caller ID?

Caller ID lets you know who's calling even before you pick up the phone. This service allows you to see the date, time, and phone number (and sometimes name) of direct-dialed local and long-distance calls before you answer the telephone. Caller ID reveals this information in a display window on your phone or on a unit that attaches to your telephone. The memory in the display unit is programmed to store the number, as well as the date and time of the call. This way, if you're not home or don't want to answer the phone, the stored numbers will permit you to see who has called. However, if the calling party's number is blocked, their number will not be displayed or stored by the Caller ID device.

What is complete call blocking?

Complete blocking keeps your number from being identified on the receiving end of your outbound calls. If the person you call has Caller ID, your number will show as Anonymous or Unavailable. The called party may decide not to answer your call if they do not know who is calling. If the called party has anonymous call rejection on their line, your call will not go through. You can reveal your number on a per-call basis by dialing *82 before you dial a number.

What is selective call blocking?

With Selective Blocking, your number is revealed on all outbound calls. You can, however, block your number on a per-call basis by dialing *67 before placing your call. If you call mostly friends and relatives, but occasionally want your number to be blocked, this may be the best choice for you.

What is Anonymous Call Rejection (ACR)?

Anonymous Call Rejection (ACR) will automatically stop incoming calls from anonymous callers who have blocked their numbers. Callers will hear a message stating that the party they are calling does not accept anonymous calls.

If I subscribe to ACR, can I ever receive an anonymous call?

Yes. ACR allows the flexibility to turn the ACR service on or off by dialing a code. The code is available upon subscription to the service.

What if I call from a telephone that has a non-published or unlisted number? Will the number still appear on the Caller ID display?

Yes, it will. Callers not wanting to reveal unpublished numbers must activate selective blocking to conceal the unlisted phone number.

If I don't block, will telemarketers be able to get my telephone number using Caller ID?

No. Telemarketers don't get their calling lists through Caller ID – they buy them from various sources. For more information on removing you phone number from telemarketing call lists, read the U.S. Federal Trade Commission consumer alert Where To Go To Just Say No. Furthermore, most customers do not call telemarketers directly.

What is Call Forwarding?

Call Forwarding lets you forward calls to another number by programming your home phone with the number you wish to forward calls to. With Call Forwarding, calls to your home number can be redirected to another landline phone or a cell phone. You will incur long-distance charges if you transfer calls to a location outside your local calling area.

What is Call Return (*69)?

Dialing *69 gives you the number, date, and time of your last incoming call and the option to dial that party back. Users of Call Waiting may also find *69 useful if they don't want to interrupt their call. When you end your first call, simply dial *69 to get the number for the second call. Note that, in some areas, *69 will return the call rather than giving you the option to dial the party back.

If I want to change my local service provider, do I have to change my phone number?

If you have existing phone service, usually you do not have to change your phone number when changing your local service provider.

What is Call Repeat?

Usually called *66, this continually redials a number if you get a busy signal and rings you back when the line is available.

What is Call Waiting?

This service allows you to answer a second incoming phone call while on the phone by putting the first call on hold.

What is cramming?

Cramming is the term used to describe the practice of placing unauthorized, misleading, or deceptive charges on consumers' telephone bills.

What is the Subscriber Line Charge?

Local phone companies recover some of the costs of telephone lines connected to your home or business through a monthly charge on your local phone bill, which is usually called the Subscriber Line Charge (SLC). This also may be called the Federal Subscriber Line Charge because it is regulated and capped by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The funds ares not, however, received by the government. The government caps this fee at $6.50 per month for primary residential lines. See the FCC consumer factsheetUnderstanding Your Telephone Bill for more information.

What is measured rate service?

This is the type of phone service where you are charged per minute for each local call.

What is message rate service?

Message rate refers to phone service where you are charged per call or per calling unit (usually five minutes) for each local call.

What is speed dial?

Speed dial allows you to quickly dial frequently called numbers by dialing a pre-programmed one- or two-digit code.

What is three-way calling?

This service allows people at three different telephone numbers to have a telephone conference on the same line.

What is voice dialing?

Voice dialing enables the caller to dial the phone by speaking a name into the receiver.

What is voice mail?

Voice mail acts as an answering machine by taking messages when you are unable to answer your calls. The messages are stored by your telephone service provider, and can be retrieved by dialing a code or telephone number, and entering your Personal Identification Number (PIN).

What is wire maintenance?

Wire maintenance is insurance for your phone lines. If you pay the wire maintenance charge monthly, the provider will repair any problems with your wiring and jacks at no additional charge.

For more information, read the related articles in our Library.

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