Starr Blogg

Calling just for fun

Well, we finally did it. We worked out a deal with a long distance wholesaler that allows us to pass a great interstate rate on to our customers - less than 3 cents per minute! Using the Freedom Long Distance plan, our customers can call from home to any continental US state for only 2.9 cents per minute. We have “shopped” some of the competition for you, so check out our home page for links to our competition’s rate pages, and see what you think. But I have to go on and toot our own horn here…

We have several advantages over our competition. For most, especially the “big” phone companies, we simply have a better rate. For some of the “closer” competition we have similar rates, but we have no hidden or monthly fees.

But let me get real here. Opex beats us on price - 2.7 cents per minute to our 2.9, but they have a $2.50 monthly fee, so for them to really beat us on monthly price, you have to talk for more then 1,250 minutes to out of state numbers - every month. Pioneer, now, is a lot closer, as you only have to talk for 495 minutes every month for them to catch up to our price.

But that isn’t why you should consider using our services. At least, not the only why. We are here for you - you can blog us, call us, e-mail us, comment on our site, services, and blogs, etc. In the end, its our people who will win you over to the Freedom Long Distance Plan.

Now, for some people reading this, you may not need a long distance plan. After all, such a plan is not really needed if you are using VOIP, or Vonage, or your Internet Service Provider’s phone package. It’s only good if you have an old fashioned telephone line with normal RJ11 jacks - the stuff you used to use with dial-up. You can still make use of our calling cards, conference plans, and our 800 services, but not the long distance plans.

For some readers, Pioneer’s plan is going to be a really good deal. If you and Grandma both use them, their rate drops down to 1.9 cents per minute, as long as both of you are Tier A customers. Sorry, I am not sure what that means, but if somebody asks, I’ll try to find out and post it as a comment to this blog entry - or better, hopefully one of you who already knows can post it for the rest of us.

We’re excited about our new rate. We’re hoping it gets you thinking about us, and ultimately, gets you to be a part of our online community. It would be great if you end up buying from us too, but we’re the first to tell you there may be better options for you - it all depends. We just want you to know we are ready to talk about your needs if you have questions.

I am really looking forward to some dialogs about traditional phone services versus voice over IP type solutions. So please post your comments, and let’s talk.

We are now listed on the Technorati Blog Directory. This is a great tool for anyone who needs info on almost anything. Type in what you want to know about, like how to change the ring tone on your cell phone, and find people around the world talking about exactly how to do that on your model phone and with your prone provider.

Technorati is at http://www.technorati.com.

Any customer of Freedomstarr Communications or Americanfone can post to the Starr Blogg or comment on existings posts - just use your service account id and password for access. Anyone else can subscribe to the Starr Blogg, and then be able to comment on posts from customers or staff.

We do ask common blog decorum and sense from our visitors. This blog is for the benefit of our community and customers, and we do reserve the right to remove material as necessary to uphold the ability of this site to best serve that benefit. We don’t want to be policemen here, so please police yourselves, and we’ll all be happy.

If you are having any problems logging in, please feel free to drop me an e-mail at john@freedomstarr.net (absolutely the fastest way to reach me), and I’ll take care of it.

We can bill for our T-1 services with a paper invoice or via credit card. When ordering service, you can specify your billing preference.

Pricing for AmericanFone’s Long Distance T-1 depends on different factors, the most relevant factors being your distance to the phone company facilities, and the options you choose. To discuss pricing for your business, please call us at 1-800-357-2171 or email us at care@freedomstarr.net. We will be delighted to provide pricing for the service that fits your business needs.

For faster service, you can also fill out a business inquiry at http://freedomstarr.net/signup/inquiry.php, which will put your inquiry and contact info directly in the calendar for the Business Care Team member who would become your account manager, should you choose to sign up with us.

Availability depends on access to our network from the closest phone company facility near your business. Contact us to find out about T-1 service availability. You can call us at 1-800-357-2171, or email us at sales@freedomstarr.net. We will be delighted to determine availability in your area.

For faster service, you can also fill out a business inquiry at http://freedomstarr.net/signup/inquiry.php, which will put your inquiry and contact info directly in the calendar for the Business Care Team member who would become your account manager, should you choose to sign up with us.

Note that if we can’t help you with T1 service, our business partner, Just Circuits, probably can. You can visit their web site at http://justcircuits.com, or call them at 888-541-7500.

There are a few ways to sign up for T1 service through FreedomStarr:

• Contact our business partner Just Circuits, Inc. They are optimized to find you the best circuit, with the best service, for the best price. Just Circuits can find you a circuit tailored to your needs and budget, from a variety of vendors, including Verizon, AT&T, COVAD and several other providers. Use their web site to send a request for quote, or just call them at 888-541-7500.
• Call us at 1-800-357-2171 and a Care Team Member will put you in touch with a Business Care Team member who can help you set your circuit up.
• email us at sales@freedomstarr.net or business@americanfone.com. Both our Internet SalesTeam, and AmericanFone’s, work hard to set you up with a high quality T1 from Verizon at a great price.
• Use our business inquiry form at https://freedomstarr.net/signup/inquiry.php. This will put you directly in touch with the Business Care Team member who would become your account representative, should you decide to become a member our customer community. It is a bit faster than e-mailing us, as your information goes right into the Team Members calendar for the day, where e-mail has to be routed through a step or two to get there.

Ultimately, to get you thorugh the process of setting up a great T1 for your business, it is fastest

A T-1 is a digital communications pipeline that is divided into 24 different channels and allows a business to have up to 24 conversations at one time. It connects directly between our main Long Distance facility and your office location, thus bypassing the local phone company’s switching station.

T-1 carriers are the most commonly used digital communications access lines in the United States.

You can call the Customer Care Center at 1-800-352-4340. Our Customer Care Center is open Monday through Friday 7:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time. You can also fax us at 1-888-295-7066 or email us at care@freedomstarr.net. You can also always visit this blog, and search to see if someone has already asked or answered your question.

Yes, calling card services are offered as part of your package.

Please visit the Calling Card section of our main site at http://freedomstarr.net?start=callingcards for more info on our calling card products.

Of course! This plan allows you to dial internationally and our rates are very competitive. Click here to check out our international rates on our rate calculator.