Some in telecommunications say new domestic rate offers, down to 5 cents per minute any time of day, portend a price war that will decimate long-distance giants' profit margins. Analyst Jeffrey Kagan predicts 5 cents will be commonplace next year. Large carriers reply that impacts will be confined to limited customer segments. As offers proliferate, providers are eager to distinguish themselves. Tel-Save Holdings Inc. brags that only its customers can track not just previous months' bills online but their most recent calls.
Carriers say they are pleased with the response to their new offers, but specifics are scarce.
In some ways, there's less to the new cyberproducts than meets the eye. As for IP telephony, it's going big-time. Those fees are falling, and it's widely assumed the exemption will be eliminated, though perhaps not for several years. Then subscribe to the IAW E-Mail Alert. Openwave Be a part of the communications revolution.