Buyer beware, Tomorrow's telecom choices require informed consumers >BY BETH SNYDER, Associate Editor-News

Getting local telephone service has been fairly simple for the past few decades. Anyone who wanted service had to be connected by the local telephone company. One choice, one decision: Do you want a telephone or not?

The Telecommunications Reform Act of 1996 changed all that. By allowing many kinds of companies to get into local, long-distance, cable, Internet and other communications services, the law gives consumers choices. Many choices, many decisions: Who will be your telecommunications provider, and for which services?

The National Consumers League anticipated the consumer confusion. Last week, it issued an eight-page brochure titled "Making Sense of Your New Communications Choices." The brochure, sponsored in part by GTE, addresses converging technologies, budgeting, potential fraud and how to comparison shop for different services.

"What we're seeing now is a convergence of industries and services," said league President Linda Golodner. "We've seen a lot of confusion in the marketplace already. If consumers are confused now, it's only going to get worse."

The first suggestion the league makes is for consumers to write up a communications budget that includes all the local, long-distance, cellular, on-line, video and cable costs for any given month. Because consumers pay for services in small chunks, one big total can be a bit alarming.

After consumers have defined a budget to work within, the brochure walks them through a series of questions and desired features about each service.

"The new competition really creates a complex marketplace, particularly when you talk about all the different services," said Debra McMahon, an analyst with Mercer Management Co., Washington, D.C.

The pamphlet also addresses telemarketing and potential fraud. It advises consumers to know their rights.

For example, telemarketers may call only between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. and must tell the customer they are selling something before making a pitch.

Just like regular telemarketing fraud-a $40-billion-a-year racket nationwide-telecom fraud is expected to occur under the new competitive system. Long-distance companies are already dealing with it.

"A significant portion of consumers can easily become victims because they don't know or don't understand the technology. Something like 12% of people are still on rotary dial phones," McMahon said.

The people most likely to shop around for different services are the thrill-seeking bargain hunters and the sophisticated consumer looking for the right service at the right price, she said.

The unsophisticated will tend to go with the familiar, McMahon said, and that's why her company projects a 60% to 70% total market share among RHCs for long-distance business.

Golodner said, "The bottom line is you must compare, compare, compare the services you're getting with the quality and the cost."