Freezing your PICs will reduce your vulnerability to slamming, but it is not foolproof.

Long distance providers that resell the services of a primary carrier you may have chosen can switch you to their billing without changing the PICs that are frozen. Ask your telephone company how to apply such restrictions to your lines, and how to change long distance carriers once the PIC Freeze is in effect.

Can my long distance provider be switched without my consent?
Yes, it happens all the time. This process is called “slamming.” Slamming is a practice whereby your existing long distance carrier is switched without your authorization. Telecom regulations allow long distance providers to handle switching your service if you have authorized them to do so. Your local telephone company will accept an electronic order from a long distance provider to change your service. Unscrupulous sales agents use this provision to switch customers without their consent, or by virtue of some trickery to make it look like you’ve consented.

There are three things you can do to minimize your vulnerability to “slamming.”

-  NEVER utter an agreeable word to a long distance telemarketer because    if you say anything that sounds like agreement, you may find you’ve    agreed to a change in your long distance service.
-  Consider “freezing” the long distance carrier designations on your local    telephone lines. If you have the local company freeze your carrier    designations, future changes will be more cumbersome and you may    need to get involved.
-  Check your bill each month to make sure nothing has been switched. If    the long distance carriers/charges aren’t right, call immediately to get    them corrected.

What are the different types of charges on my bill?
Long distance service providers typically apply up to four types of charges plus discounts. Monthly volume or term discounts and periodic credits may be applied in accordance with contract terms.

-  Fixed charges may include a basic charge for the service as well as
   charges for each local telephone line for your particular service, charges    for T1 circuits or local lines needed to carry switched traffic, and PICC
   (Primary Interexchange Carrier Charge) -- a charge that may apply
   designated to route calls to the long distance service provider.
-  Usage charges for actual calling.
-  Surcharges may be added for each card call, and for each billed call    that originated at a pay phone/service.
-  Taxes include applicable local, state and federal excise, franchise,
   sales/use USF and similar charges and fees.

NOTE: Some service providers include some of the preceding charges under a sub-head of “taxes and other charges,” falsely implying that such charges are taxes.

How do I know what provider I currently use?
You can test each line by dialing 1-700-555-4141. There will be a recording indicating the Primary Interexchange Carrier (PIC) assigned to that line.
-  You can call your local telephone company and ask what carrier is    assigned to each line for regional toll calling and state-to-state calls.
-  Many resellers use the main PIC code of the carrier they’re reselling. In    such cases you may hear the main carrier identified, rather than the    reseller that actually bills you.
-  Occasionally, due to errors, the local telephone company records don’t    reflect what’s actually programmed in the software.

My rates are higher than they’re supposed to be -- what should I do? In order for your long distance company to bill you on the plan you agreed to, every telephone line that has long distance calling must have a Primary Interexchange Carrier assigned to that line. Your local telephone company should have the same lines entered into their database as that of the long distance provider’s for the plan you’ve selected. Unless both of these conditions are met, calls will be billed at much higher than what you signed up for. Ask your long distance provider for a complete listing of the numbers in its database for your account and then correct any errors/omissions.

What do “intralata” and “interlata” mean?
Intralata refers to calls between two points that are within the same LATA, or Local Access Transport Area. It also refers to local toll or regional long distance. LATAs are usually within a single state. Rates may be different for intralata and interlata calling.

Interlata refers to calls between points in different LATAs. "Inter” is a prefix meaning “between” and LATA is an area or region. Interlata is also known as local or regional toll calling. Such calls may be within the state or state-to-state.

What’s the difference between “intrastate” and “interstate?”
Intrastate refers to calls between two points that are within the same state. Such may include both intralata and interlata calls and rates may be different for each. Interstate refers to calls between points in different states. Such may include both intralata and interlata calls.

How can I tell what my billing increments are?
Service providers may apply different billing increments to different plans. Billing increments are variable units of time measured in minutes or seconds for billing purposes. Billing increments make a difference, especially with shorter calls. To find out what billing increments are applied to your plan, you can call your service provider or look on your bill.

-  60-second billing increments are rounded up to the nearest minute
   and usually adds an average of about 30 extra seconds for each call.
-  Six-second billing increments are rounded up to the nearest six seconds.    Six seconds is 0.1 minute and is one of shortest billing increments
   available and with the rounding up, usually adds about 3 seconds to
   each call. Six-second billing increments will reduce the total billed time
   by 10% - 15%, as compared to 60-second billing increments.
-  One second billing increments are not rounded up. You are only charged    for actual usage. Depending on average call duration, one-second billing
   will reduce the total billed time by another percent, or so, as compared
   to 6-second billing.

What are the “10-10” calling numbers I see advertised?
Numbers such as this override your existing long distance carrier for both regional and state-to-state calls. It connects you to the network of another long distance provider. Many long distance providers offer such options and don’t require you to sign up or change providers. Major carriers such as AT&T, MCI WorldCom and Sprint, as well as smaller carriers, offer plans like this.