Qwest Raising Rates On 411 Information Calls
New Rate Is Triple What It Was A Year Ago
Remember the good old days, last year, when it only cost 40 cents to call for information?
Thursday, Qwest Communications International began charging $1.25 for calls to information.
Last year, Qwest's predecessor, U S West, had raised the
information rate in Colorado from 40 cents to 85 cents. Callers were
allowed to ask for two numbers per call.
U S West, and now Qwest, have been free to change directory
assistance rates as they please since Colorado enacted a law in
April deregulating the practice.
"We believe the market conditions warrant it," said Judi Hand,
a senior vice president of sales at Qwest. "And it also reflects
the cost of providing directory assistance. This is a very
competitive category."
Qwest's national directory-assistance rate will remain below the
cost of AT&T Corp.'s 00-Info service at $1.49 a call and its
555-1212 service at $1.99 a call.
Even though Qwest raised its rate for directory assistance, there are a number of online web sites providing directory assistance at no charge.
FREE Directory Assistance:
Thursday, Qwest Communications International began charging $1.25 for calls to information.
Last year, Qwest's predecessor, U S West, had raised the
information rate in Colorado from 40 cents to 85 cents. Callers were
allowed to ask for two numbers per call.
U S West, and now Qwest, have been free to change directory
assistance rates as they please since Colorado enacted a law in
April deregulating the practice.
"We believe the market conditions warrant it," said Judi Hand,
a senior vice president of sales at Qwest. "And it also reflects
the cost of providing directory assistance. This is a very
competitive category."
Qwest's national directory-assistance rate will remain below the
cost of AT&T Corp.'s 00-Info service at $1.49 a call and its
555-1212 service at $1.99 a call.
Even though Qwest raised its rate for directory assistance, there are a number of online web sites providing directory assistance at no charge.
Copyright 2002 by TheDenverChannel.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
