# Verizon wants to raise rates 75% **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 18, 2004, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/verizon-wants-to-raise-rates-75/260378 "2004-08-18T12:40:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2004, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/verizon-wants-to-raise-rates-75/260378/21 "2004-08-19T00:11:27Z")
**CORRECTION** Although my long-distance charges appear on my Verizon bill, my actual long-distance carrier was **SPRINT**. That doesn’t change the news that Verizon wants to increase its charges 75% though. > [@](#): > > 38¢ a minute? That is freaking insane and given the current state of the phone industry I’d say it’s close to theft. If anybody is paying more than 7¢/minute they are paying too much. Where exactly do you live? There has to be another service provider that doesn’t want to screw their customers. I agree. I made two very long phone calls to a friend in Tennessee. When I divided the charges by the minutes, my 5:30 PM Friday call came out to about 38 cents/minute. My Saturday call came out to 35 cents/minute. I thought I must have made a mistake, so I figured them again. No mistake. This surprises me, since I was only paying 10 cents/minute minus a USAA discount in L.A. on Sprint. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2004, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/verizon-wants-to-raise-rates-75/260378/22 "2004-08-19T01:38:34Z")
In Akron, OH. I have SBC as a land line. I have their basic local calling only. It costs $20/month. I buy a long distance phone card from a local(Northern Ohio) discount drug store called Marc’s. The card allows me to call for 3 cents/minute. I have Roadrunner for my cable internet connection, so I can’t tell what I’d do if I needed DSL. ---
**Author:** ![UrbanChic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9dc877/32.png) [@UrbanChic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UrbanChic)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2004, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/verizon-wants-to-raise-rates-75/260378/23 "2004-08-19T02:29:02Z")
My only problem with cutting the cord is the inability to hear the telephone ringing since I’d effectively only have one telephone. With the land line we have three telephones, two cordless. I can almost always hear one of three telephones ringing. Unless I remember to keep my mobile telephone on my person at all times I’ll miss too many calls. ---
**Author:** ![Black\_Train\_Song](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4da419/32.png) [@Black\_Train\_Song](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Black_Train_Song)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2004, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/verizon-wants-to-raise-rates-75/260378/24 "2004-08-19T02:42:10Z")
I just dropped my land line entirely and went with an internet phone system (Vonage) and so far (aprox. 1 month) It’s been great and about half the cost. ---
**Author:** ![Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19adc/32.png) [@Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2004, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/verizon-wants-to-raise-rates-75/260378/25 "2004-08-19T06:19:58Z")
Since I’ve only lived in the US for a year, no company will let me make long distance calls unless I slap down a deposit ($50 to 300, depending on company), and after that I’ll still need to pay at least $4/month just for the privilege of making LD calls. I use a phone card instead, with a penny a minute rate. $5 lasts me six weeks, easy. ---
**Author:** ![Abbie\_Carmichael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/49beb7/32.png) [@Abbie\_Carmichael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abbie_Carmichael)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2004, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/verizon-wants-to-raise-rates-75/260378/26 "2004-08-19T12:47:45Z")
I have the same calling plan as **RTFirefly**. For 65 bucks a month, it’s an okay deal. I can call my granny every day if I want to 🙂 And since I live right on the KY/OH/WV border, it’s nice to be able to call my Ohio friends and not get pummeled. 65 is my limit, though. If they raise it 75% I’ll drop them like a hot potato, get a bare bones calling plan and use a prepaid phone card. Which is probably what I should do anyway, that or get a cell phone, but with cell phones I’m afraid of the 2 year contract. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2004, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/verizon-wants-to-raise-rates-75/260378/27 "2004-08-19T12:51:42Z")
**Another correction** > [@](#): > > My Saturday call came out to 35 cents/minute. My Saturday call was **25** cents/minute. I was having trouble connecting to the internet yesterday, and I was typing fast to get the message posted before I was disconnected again. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/verizon-wants-to-raise-rates-75/260378.md?page=1)