Even within a single-service provider, the cost of a particular service can vary significantly, as most companies charge several different rates for the same service. Thus, many long-distance callers can either achieve significant savings or pay unnecessarily high rates, depending on the choices they make.
Consumers can save money on their long-distance calling in a variety of ways.
Depending on the individual household and on the method or methods it employs to cut costs, considerable savings are possible. Nevertheless, research shows that many long-distance callers are not taking advantage of these opportunities. One goal of the survey was to be able to compare findings across different age groups of the U.S. adult population with a focus on persons 50 years or older. As such, it was necessary to sample larger numbers of older persons, particularly those age 75 and older, than would have been necessary to examine the findings only for the population as a whole. All differences among age groups that are highlighted in the text are statistically significant at the .05 level unless otherwise indicated.