Answers to common dial around questions

1) How can I contact phone companies to get more information?Toll free phone numbers and links to websites are on the State-to-State Rates page. That page also lists which companies own the 10-10 numbers -- for example AT&T owns 1010 345. MCI owns TelecomUSA and 1010 987, 1010 220, 1010 321. You can also read more details by clicking the 1010 Services Description Pages links below.

2) Do all of these plans work in my state? ...if I change local phone companies?Not all plans work in all states; visit our Within Your State page for a list of restrictions we are aware of.Rates listed are for calls placed from the continental United States. If available in Alaska and Hawaii, rates may be higher.Some local exchange carriers (your local telephone company) may not support all plans. Check before switching local service. Even the Comcast Broadband (digital cable) local service does not support most 10-10 plans

3) How are dial around calls billed?Most 10-10 plans are billed with your local phone bill, each plan showing on a separate page.

4) What are the billing increments? Most dial around plans listed bill in one-minute increments. Some, such as 1010 220, 1010 228, 1010 297, 1010 811 and 1010 987 have an initial minimum number of minutes or connect fee. See our rates pages for details.

5) Does using a dial around plan cause my regular "dial 1" service to be switched?No. If your regular plan is switched without your permission, visit the FCC's Slamming rules and rights page.

6) When do I dial the 10-1x-xxx code?First dial the plan's seven-digit code ( such as 10-10-228, for example ), then the phone number you are calling. If you normally need to dial a "1" before the phone number, dial the 10-1x-xxx code first, then "1", then the area code and phone number. You may not hear a dial tone after dialing the access code, just continue dialing the phone number.International calls: most require dialing "011" instead of "1". Some countries/territories require 1+ area code.

7) What is the USF (Universal Service Fund) fee?Answer from Federal Communications Commission documents: A universal fund which helps compensate telephone companies for providing access to services at affordable rates throughout the country, including rural, insular and high cost areas, and to public institutions. These fees have been charged in connection with consumers' long distance service. The amounts charged and the name describing the universal service-related fees vary considerably among carriers. Some carriers have labeled the fee as "Universal Connectivity Charge," "Federal Universal Service Fee," "Carrier Universal Service Charge (CUSC)," and even "Local Service Subsidy." Notes from this website: USF charges are usually added as a percentage at the end of the calendar month. Depending on your billing cycle, you may see calls charged on one bill, then the USF on those calls the next bill. 1010 220 and 1010 987 were calculating and billing their USF fees weekly, according to users who had emailed me about their bills.

8) Why are some plans not listed?Some plans are only available in a few states. Others are impractical to list because they're too expensive or complicated to use. The 1010 502 plan is not listed because it has promotional test rates that can change frequently. I've seen dial arounds that bill in 3-minute increments (for example, 101 5992). Those are not listed because the rounding up to 3-minutes could make the rate tables misleading to consumers. For example, if a 15-minute call costs 60 cents, a call that goes just 1 second longer gets billed 3 more minutes and costs 72 cents.

9) Can I use a dial-around plan from a pay phone or hotel?Definitely not from a pay phone, and not from most hotels.

10) Where else would I not be able to use a dial-around plan?Cellular phones, most institutional phone systems-- such as hospital rooms and inmate lines. Some business and dormitory phone systems may not support dial-arounds.

11) Can these dial around plans be used from outside of the United States?No, at this time the dial around plans shown on this site are only available for calls made from the U.S.With most plans you can make calls to any country from the U.S.

12) Why are some countries not listed in the International Rates?In order to keep the original regional tables updated frequently, I focus on 122 countries there. All international rates for more than 200 countries and territories are available via the call-time rate comparisons interactive database.

13) Which of the 10-10 numbers is best for me?The great thing about dial around plans listed on this site is you don't have to choose one plan! You can use several for the best savings on different types of calls.For tips on how to choose the best plan for you, visit our How to Choose a plan page.

14) Do I need to have a long distance carrier assigned to my phone line? No. You can request that no long distance company be assigned to your phone line. This includes removing your existing carrier. Any 10-10 or other dial-around numbers that work from your phone now will continue to work after dropping your long distance carrier. And you will still be able to dial toll-free numbers (800, 888, etc) directly.However, some local phone companies charge a one time fee of about $5 to process the removal of carrier request. Businesses may also be charged a continuing monthly PICC fee on additional lines. That is in addition to the Federal Subscriber Line Charge (sometimes billed as something like "Charges for Network Access for Interstate Calling") authorized by the FCC and currently billed by your local carrier.

Check with your local phone company to find out their policy.Potential reasons to do this:
You mostly use dial around plans now. You find the fees and taxes of the pre-subscribed carrier cost too much compared to the phone calls made with them.
Your phone plan charges a fee when the amount spent with them goes below a minimum level. In months you go below that level a "penalty fee" of around $4 gets charged!
You live with family members that forget to use dial around codes and you end up getting billed some ridiculous rate (such as 28� per minute) for long interstate phone calls.Potential reasons not to do this:
When making a short call, you find it irritating to dial the extra 7 digits of a dial around code for the savings realized. Tip: A phone with speed-dial buttons helps overcome this. You can still dial toll-free "800" numbers without a 10-10 code.
You like the directory assistance of your current long distance provider. Tip: Check with your local phone company to see if they offer long distance directory assistance via 411 for a reasonable fee. Calling cards and MCI�s 10-10-9000 offer alternatives. Perhaps the best alternative is to get free online directory assistance-- visit our Related Links page for that
It may be better to switch to another "dial 1" plan that has better rates or lower fees than your current plan. For some options, see our Other Phone Plans advertising page.
Some local phone companies are not set up for all of the plans to work. Test the 10-10 numbers you plan to use before dropping your regular service!