What's a good long distance carrier for Toronto?

March 15, 2005 11:23 AM

Can you recommend a good long distance telephone provider? I'm in Toronto, I make perhaps 1-6 long distance calls a year, I call only within Ontario, and getting billed for monthly network fees regardless of whether I've called long distance that month really gets my tailfeathers in a twist.
posted by orange swan to Shopping (11 answers total)

Do you really need a provider? I just keep a grocery-store bought calling card for my infrequent long distance calls, and that works out great.
posted by GeekAnimator at 11:31 AM on March 15, 2005

Bell doesn't like to remind people, but you *can* go completely without a long distance plan. Their base rates, while they include insanely high per minute rates, do not carry the network fee. Then, as GeekAnimator suggests, you can use calling cards to make the actual calls. You could also use one of the 10-10 services like 10-10-YAK for your occasional calls.
posted by jacquilynne at 11:54 AM on March 15, 2005

I use bigredwire, which has terrific rates, and no per-month fees (as long as you let them bill your credit card, and you are content to look at your bills online). From where I live--Southern California-- the long distance rates are 2.7 cents per minute, which is much better than my phone company's 6 cent rate.

I've never had any kind of problem with them.
posted by curtm at 12:16 PM on March 15, 2005

I also buy my long distance off the internet. I use net2phone and find it very convenient.
posted by duck at 12:23 PM on March 15, 2005

I do exactly as jacquilynne suggests. It's great, the phone is $25.odd a month. You do have to watch Bell though; I've had them "helpfully" sign me up for their basic long-distance plan in the past without my permission ("Oh sir, we noticed you didn't have a plan, so we signed you up for ours...")

My cell is what I use now for my infrequent long distance calls. With most (Rogers) plans, it's hardly worth worrying about LD charges.
posted by bonehead at 1:11 PM on March 15, 2005

I just called Bell last month to cancel my long-distance plan. Instead, they asked me if I'd be interested in their "secret" long-distance plan that they don't tell anyone about: 5 cents a minute, no minimum.

Of course, they still throw in their network fee of $2.95 a month. So, if you don't mind dialing the extra digits, jacquilynne's suggestion of 10-10-YAK will get you the same rate without the monthly access fee. If you know in advance that it's going to be a long (duration in addition to distance, that is) call, you can use Yak Communications' Looney Call which will charge you a buck for the first 38 minutes (assuming the call's within North America), and then 5 cents for each minute thereafter.
posted by bachelor#3 at 1:15 PM on March 15, 2005

I was going to suggest 10-15-945, it's 5¢ a minute anywhere in North America. Well, you learn something new every day. I didn't realize it was the original number for 10-10-YAK (you can use either number).
posted by deborah at 2:04 PM on March 15, 2005

I use gas-station purchased phone cards. If you buy wisely, 5 bucks can get you a lot of minutes anywhere in North America. I wouldn't do this if I was using lots of LD, but for occasional calls it works well.

Be sure to get the right call for your needs. If you want to make several shorter calls a no connection fee card will get you a lot more minutes. But if you make few but longer calls, it's worth it to pay the connection fee to get a lower per-minute rate. Read the fine print ahead of time on any card. Some have a 'maintenence fee' that eats into the balance of the card when it stays dormant. Avoid those cards.
posted by raedyn at 2:27 PM on March 15, 2005

You could always try Vonage as primary provider. For $35/mth you get no charge on all calls province-wide, and 500 minutes charge-free on calls within North America (per month).

Not sure about international rates, but I'd imagine they would be pretty good.
posted by purephase at 3:23 PM on March 15, 2005

I'm not in Canada, but the States; however my experience probably applies. I stopped paying the phone company for long distance a few years ago; just been using calling cards since then. A minimum long distance tax charge is still added to the phone bill, about $5.

Note: Don't buy your phone cards retail, people -- you're being ripped off. The bargains are available online (naturally) like at a site called phonecardonsale.com which sells a whole bunch of 'em, so you can compare and get the best deal. Most are geared to some non-NorthAm location, but domestic bargains exist -- Telespeed is the best for me (with their local access numbers, 1$#162;/minute! Calling a toll-free number doubles the price, and using a pay phone increases the access charge). It's a bit of a hassle, but you get used to it, and I like the anonymity -- your calling history becomes at least one remove from your dial tone provider. How it works: no physical card is involved, they just email you you're access code.
posted by Rash at 3:45 PM on March 15, 2005

Argh, not 1$#162; but 1¢ a minute = 1¢/minute!
posted by Rash at 3:49 PM on March 15, 2005