Public Service Commission

Unlimited Calling May Not Mean Limitless Calling

The Georgia Public Service Commission urges consumers to "carefully" read the terms and conditions statement associated with unlimited calling plans. A review of a sampling of terms and conditions associated with unlimited calling plans has shown that "unlimited" may not mean "limitless calling," but in some cases includes a predetermined cap on allowable minutes of use.

The terms and conditions reviewed by staff contained either a 5,000 minutes of use cap or were limited to usage equaled to 300% of the company's average usage for subscribers to the unlimited calling plan. The following types of calls were excluded from some "unlimited" calling plans: facsimiles, Internet, 900 numbers, calling card, operator-assisted, multi-party conference calls and international calls.

To make sure you know exactly what to expect before making a commitment to a particular calling plan, you may consider doing the following:

1. Explain your communication needs to a company representative.
2. Ask which plan offered by the company would best meet your needs.
3. Ask for a copy of the terms and conditions for all calling plans which may be of interest to you prior to signing any documents.
4. Read the terms and conditions carefully.
5. Write down questions you have about the terms and conditions.
6. Ask about exclusions or exceptions, if any, that may apply to the calling plan.
7. Compare unlimited calling plans offered by various companies.

Investing time doing a little "investigation" before signing on the "dotted line" will help prevent the confusion and misunderstanding that arise when consumers aren't fully aware of the products and services to which they've committed themselves. Also, you may save yourself money. Knowledge is power - dial into it!