10-10-987: The Real Cost of Dialing 10-10-987
Service Analyzed: 10-10-987 (dial-around)
Benchmarked Against: CogniState (1+ long distance)
Looking at: State to state calls
Conclusion: CogniState offers lower cost
10-10-987, the newest dial-around offer from Telecom*USA (the company behind 10-10-220 and 10-10-321) is currently advertised heavily in television spots across the United States. 10-10-987 promises a rate of only 3 cents per minute, plus 46 cents to connect (used to be 39 cents), so one of our visitors emailed us to ask:
"With the advertised 3 cents a minute and 46 cents to connect, just how many minutes do I have to talk to get a true rate of 3 cent per minute?" Short answer: It simply won't happen.
As shown in the table below, even if you should use 10-10-987 long distance to talk for 8 hours straight, your real rate per minute would only come down to 3.1 cents per minute. For a 15 minute call, real cost with 10-10-987 long distance will be 6.1 cents/minute, significantly more than flat rates available from a number of regular long distance carriers - and with a regular long distance carrier there will be no extra "10-10 numbers" to dial.
We DO NOT use or recommend any TeleCom USA services.
| Call Length: |
Call Cost: |
Cost/Minute: |
| 1 minute |
$0.49 |
49¢ |
| 5 minutes |
$0.61 |
12.2¢ |
| 15 minutes |
$0.91 |
6.1¢ |
| 30 minutes |
$1.36 |
4.5¢ |
| 1 hour |
$2.26 |
3.8¢ |
| 2 hours |
$4.06 |
3.4¢ |
| 4 hours |
$7.66 |
3.2¢ |
| 8 hours |
$14.86 |
3.1¢ |
When examining the real cost of 10-10-987 we chose the CogniState long distance service as a benchmark. With a state-to-state rate of 3.45 cents per minute, six second billing increments (10-10-987 bills in full minutes only), and no monthly fee, we felt CogniState would be an excellent measuring stick for whether or not 10-10-987 will actually save you money.
So, the big question: How many minutes do I have to talk for a call to be cheaper with 10-10-987 than with CogniState?
The answer: CogniState will be cheaper than 10-10-987 for domestic state-to state calls shorter than 103 minutes, while 10-10-987 will be the cheapest solution for calls 103 minutes or longer. (If CogniState is not available in your area, CogniPhone will be a good solution at 3.89 cent/minute - in this case 10-10-987 makes sense for calls over 51 minutes.)
Please refer to the following table to see how CogniState compares to 10-10-987 at different call lengths.
| Call Length: |
10-10-987: |
CogniState: |
With CogniState: |
| 1 minute |
$0.49 |
$0.04 |
Save 92% ($0.45) |
| 5 minutes |
$0.61 |
$0.18 |
Save 70% ($0.43) |
| 15 minutes |
$0.91 |
$0.52 |
Save 43% ($0.39) |
| 30 minutes |
$1.36 |
$1.04 |
Save 24% ($0.32) |
| 1 hour |
$2.26 |
$2.07 |
Save 8% ($0.19) |
| 2 hours |
$4.06 |
$4.14 |
Lose 2% ($0.08) |
Quick Links:
Cogni State (3.45¢ - low in-state rates)
Cogni World (3.49¢ - low international rates)
Cogni Phone (3.89¢ - available in Tier B and Tier C areas)
10-10-987 overview
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