Phones in Your Home (Land Line)
You may select the same phone company or two different companies to provide phone service to your home:
- One company for local calls (for phone calls in the Boston area)
- One company for long distance (for phone calls outside of the Boston area, to other states and to other countries
There are many local and long-distance companies to choose from. Each company charges slightly different rates. Some may have special “options” or rate plans for long-distance calls or international calls, but the rates are very competitive among each company.
If you do not choose a long distance carrier immediately, you will have only local service on your home telephone. You may sign for a long distance service at a later date. There may be a 5-day to 7-day waiting period after you order service from the company and before you are connected.
You should contact several local and long-distance companies, to look for special options for international calls and to compare rate information. Ask about any special prices or “bundled services” packages.
- Bundled services mean that you will buy many different services at the same time for one price
- Bundled services may include internet, cell phone, home phone, TV reception, and more.
Some major local and long distance companies serving the Boston area are:
- Verizon—http://www.verizon.com/home/verizonglobalhome/ghp_landing.aspx
- Sprint—http://www.sprint.com/mysprint/pages/sl/global/index.jsp
- AT&T—http://www.att.com/#fbid=EMCh_nd4REq
- MCI—http://www.mci.com/
The Do Not Call Registry
It is a good idea to sign up for the Do Not Call Registry so that telemarketers (people who will call your home and try to sell you things) do not have your phone number. Once you have your phone number, you sign up for the Do Not Call Registry on this website: www.madonotcall.govconnect.com.
Cost of Home Phone Service
The average cost for local telephone service ranges from $40 to $70 per month. Long-distance calls are billed separately. The cost to install telephone service ranges from $40 to $90.
Typically, you will receive one telephone bill. The first section is usually for local service and the second section is usually from your long distance company. Some companies have agreements and will send you two separate bills for both services.
Almost all telephone calls—including the telephone number, date, time and location—will be recorded on the telephone bill. Tax and service fees are also listed.
Dialing Telephone Numbers
All telephone numbers in the U.S. have 10 digits: a 3-digit area code plus a 7-digit local telephone number.
- Each state has at least one area code (the Boston area code is 617).
- Some states have more than one (Massachusetts has several area codes, including 617, 508, 781 and 413).
- You usually have to dial the number 1 and then the area code and 7-digit number when making calls outside of the Boston area.
You will need to dial 011 and a country code in order to call another country from the U.S. You can see all the international dialing codes on this website: http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/international-calling-codes.htm
Making Emergency Calls
You can dial 911 in case of emergency for an ambulance, firefighters, police, and other emergency help, and this call is free of charge. You are not charged by firefighters or police if you call for help. An ambulance company will, however, bill your health insurance company if you accept medical care.
You can dial 411 for business and home telephone numbers or addresses. Dialing 411 is not allowed from within Partners hospitals, but you can get this information on websites such as www.anywho.com or www.switchboard.com.
More Information About Telephone Calls
- Toll-free telephone numbers will not cost any money to dial and usually start with 1-800, 1-888, 1-877 or 1-866, followed by a 7-digit telephone number.
- Calls made to 1-900 numbers will be charged to your bill.
- Telephone answering machines are very common; do not be surprised if you get a recorded message asking you to leave a message (your name and phone number where you can be reached) after the tone.
- Continuous short buzzes mean that the telephone you are calling is busy.
- It is also possible to purchase an answering service (voicemail) from your telephone company for a small monthly charge.
- Public or pay telephones are located throughout the city, both indoors and outdoors. Local calls from public phones cost at least 50 cents or you could also use a calling card. Follow the instructions written on the phones.