Dear Future Gamer

I'm writing in relation to Martyn Hurt's letter (FG39) about the high cost of online telephone calls. I recently did some research through OFTEL's website to find out why BT are still charging high rates for local calls. Basically, it looks like BT are stuck in the middle because if they were to make local calls free or unmetered, this could be deemed unfair to cable companies who are still trying to establish themselves in the market. It's very likely that BT will not be allowed to drop their prices for some time.

This leaves one alternative: cable companies. NTL have a good pricing system (1p per minute Internet access, whatever time of day during the week), and some companies will actually offer free phone calls, but you end up paying a higher monthly rate. It's worth noting that we're ahead of the US in some respects as the majority of people there still have to pay a monthly rate to ISPs ($20 to $25). I agree with you that unmetered calls are definitely the way forward and I shall be logging my support for the campaign you mentioned. In the meantime, try a cable company as that might help cut costs if you surf weekdays or weekday evenings.

Michael Harvey

FG: Things are never quite as simple as they first seem. It's all well and good us shouting, "BT! Give us free local calls!" but as Michael points out, there may be other reasons we haven't thought about that prevents them. Shop around folks - cable companies might just be your best deal.