Released: August 17, 2008

Getting the 411 on phone charges

Source: David Lazarus, Los Angeles Times (Free Registration)

On Sept. 1, AT&T Inc. will cut the number of free 411 calls offered to customers each month to one from three. At first glance, that seems like a fairly small thing.

But it reflects a bigger trend - a systematic stripping away of phone services that once were provided free or for a nominal charge, and a steady increasing of fees for other services.

A couple of years ago, state regulators granted phone companies the freedom to price services pretty much as they pleased. The rationale officials gave at the time was that a competitive marketplace would keep prices low for consumers.

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