3U Telecom

Reviewers say 3U Telecom has higher-than-average domestic long-distance phone rates but is the most affordable plan if you make a lot of international calls or you call Alaska or Hawaii frequently from the other 48 states. You can call some countries for the same 4.8 cents per minute that you'd pay domestically. Reviewers say another advantage of 3U is users are charged per second -- a five-second call is billed as five seconds, while other companies charge in increments ranging from six seconds to one minute. While most user reviewers indicate a high level of satisfaction, more than a few note inconsistent sound quality, and while some user reviewers say customer service is pretty good, others claim the opposite. Another drawback is that there's no pay-by-check option, although you can request a paper bill (*est. 99 cents per month). You have about three days to peruse your online bill before you incur a direct debit or credit-card charge. If most of your calling is in the contiguous 48 states, most reviews recommend ECG (*est. 2.5 cents per minute) or Total Call International (*est. 3.9 cents minute).

SaveOnPhone.com evaluates pricing and customer service for about 350 long-distance plans. Similar websites don't meet this high standard, either basing their ratings strictly by price or not apparently doing as much footwork to assess customer service. PhoneDog.com has the largest collection of consumer reviews of phone plans, especially useful for judging how a long-distance provider stacks up in a particular region. Consumer Reports doesn't really evaluate different long-distance plans, but it has a report that's good for basic information.