Time to get ready

Years ago, before the advent of cell phones, a friend of mine used a calling card to call home from a phone booth after her car broke down. When the next phone bill came, she discovered her one-minute emergency call cost more than a 30-minute Mother’s Day call to a far-distant state.

The reason was simple: long-distance companies were competing to claim customers with lower rates, while the payphone service was operated by a company that had no competition, at least at that location. Never mind the fact that the cost of a one-minute connection spanning a few miles was hardly equal to that of a 30-minute call traversing the country. While the pricing anomaly was infuriating to my friend, it reflected market conditions.

Such rate anomalies are still common today, but they are under attack. The most recent salvo comes from Truphone Anywhere, a service that detects when a wireless customer is making an international call and routes that call over an IP network at a much lower cost.

International rates remain high, so it’s not surprising to see innovative solutions to address that consumer pain. But this is only one instance -- look at Magic Jack, a technology/service that offers a year’s worth of calls for one flat price.

At some point, incumbent voice providers are going to have to more rationally look at the rates they charge, work with whatever regulators are still involved, and create a more reasonable system. While there are still customers unwilling to use -- or unaware of -- much lower-cost alternatives, it is a dwindling pool. And whatever the market forces supporting pricing anomalies have been in the past, they are clearly crumbling today.

E-mail me at cwilson3@telephonyonline.com.