Local and Long Distance Phone Services

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Local and Long Distance Phone Services
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Kristy_Annely]Kristy Annely

Local phone service refers to the services provided by phone companies that allow a customer to make calls within the same city or region, which is defined as the local calling area. What constitutes an individual local calling area is decided by the phone service provider.

Until a few years ago it was not possible to choose your local service telephone provider. However, the Telecommunications Act of 1996 opened up the telephone industry to wider competition and now it is possible for most people to choose a service provider that offers the best rates and service. Thanks to this act, consumers benefit from increased competition and now have better deals to choose from when it comes to phone services.

Long distance services were first offered in 1892 when AT&T built a long distance telephone network that was interconnected between New York and Chicago. Due to the limitations of the technology available at that time, this network could not be extended further. After the invention of loading coils, the network was expanded to Denver, in 1911. Following the development of audio technology in 1914, it was possible to make telephone signals reach each other from one coast to another. However, the first real-time long distance call was not possible until 1951, with the introduction of the direct distance-dialling feature of AT&T. This is also the first time an area code was used, which led to today's 10-digit phone numbers.

For a long time, long-distance carriers specialized only in providing long-distance services. However, with technological advancement most of the service providers could provide both local and long distance phone services to their customers. Joining the two services led to streamlined billing and better customer support. However, the current long distance market is fiercely competitive and using a separate service provider for long distance services can ultimately be cheaper because the providers are competing for business and tend to offer low-cost plans.

The main long distance service providers in the U.S. are Sprint, AT&T and MCI Worldcom. With the development and proliferation of mobile phone technology, mobile telephone service providers have been able to compete with the long distance service providers, providing customers low rates for local and long distance calls. This is one of the main reasons for the increasing popularity of the cell phones in the telecom market. [http://www.i-LongDistancePhoneServices.com]Long Distance Phone Services provides detailed information on Long Distance Phone Services, Local And Long Distance Phone Services, Cheap Long Distance Phone Services, Long Distance Phone Service Providers and more. Long Distance Phone Services is affiliated with [http://www.e-LongDistanceCarriers.com]International Long Distance Carriers.





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IRS Hangs Up on Long-distance Tax

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IRS Hangs Up on Long-distance Tax
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Martin_Lukac]Martin Lukac

The IRS has announced that it will stop collecting the federal excise tax on long distance telephone services.

The IRS has announced that it will stop collecting the federal excise tax on long distance telephone services.

The agency announced last Thursday that the tax does not apply to long-distance service as it is billed today. The tax was first imposed in 1898 to help pay for the Spanish-American War. The current rate of 3% is charged on the service amount.

Taxpayers will be able to receive a refund of all excise taxes paid on long-distance services billed since Feb. 28, 2003. Interest will also be paid on these refunds. The IRS will soon announce a simplified method that taxpayers may use to minimize administrative burden.

"So taxpayers won't have to spend time digging through old telephone bills, we're designing a straightforward process that taxpayers may use when they file their tax returns next years," said IRS Commissioner Mark W. Everson. He said that claiming a refund will be a simple process.

The IRS says that local telephone service will remain under the federal excise tax. Other state and local taxes and fees paid will also remain in affect.

"Today is a turning point in the long battle to stop the levy for a war that ended 100 years ago," said Senate Finance Committee Chairman Charles Grassley (R-Iowa). "This tax hits every telephone owner, but it doesn't pay for any specific program. It now pours billions into the U.S. Treasury every year for no reason. It's time to hang up the telephone tax."

Martin Lukac ( http://www.MartinLukac.com), represents http://www.RateEmpire.com and [http://www.1AmericanFinancial.com]http://www.1AmericanFinancial.com, a finance web-company specializing in real estate/mortgage market. We specialize in daily updates, rate predictions, mortgage rates and more. Find low home loan mortgage interest rates from hundreds of mortgage companies!





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Public Relations for Long Distance Telephone Service

Public Relations for Long Distance Telephone Service
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Lance_Winslow]Lance Winslow

There are many things that bother people and many services we pay for that we do not appreciate. Most people despise the fact that they have to pay so much money for the long-distance telephone service and it is for that reason that people are constantly switching long-distance telephone service in hopes to save the little money.

Generally when they switch they do not save any more money than they would have if they had stayed. Long-distance telephone services use all kinds of marketing tactics to get people to switch their long-distance telephone service and still people are not happy. If people liked the company they do business with more than perhaps they would be much happier.

This is where a good public relations and community goodwill program can come in handy for a long-distance telephone service company. One long-distance telephone company was allowing people of the armed forces to call their loved ones overseas for pennies on the dollar of what it might really cost and this is something that long-distance telephone companies can do to increase public relations.

Of course the goodwill that this company received in doing such a wonderful service for our armed forces and their families was worth its weight in gold for publicity. Perhaps this makes an excellent case study for public relations strategies for long-distance telephone service companies. Please consider all this in 2006.

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