How to select your new phone company
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Tips on selecting a new phone services operator

i) Call Pattern - consider your call usage pattern. What proportion of your existing bill, are local, national, mobile, and international calls ? Do you make mostly calls within Ireland or International ? Armed with this knowledge you are in a much better position to select a new operator based on who offers the best package for your particular call pattern.

ii) Pricing Structure- The plethora of different call packages and rates available in the market, can be overwhelming. It is often hard to discover whether you really will save or not. Keep it Simple ! If the operator does not provide a very simple and clear pricing package, then you should tread carefully. "Free Minutes" - are often not free (!). If you have to pay a fee up front each month for a certain number of "free minutes", consider this very carefully and be sure to check your last bill to see if your usage of this call type will actually save you more than the monthly fee you are paying upfront for these "free minutes". Be very sceptical of convoluted discount packages. For example, companies that require you to be a customer for a certain period before qualifying for "special" discounts. Equally, consider very carefully packages that require minimum usage requirments before qualifying for discounts.BOTTOM LINE: if the pricing structure of your preferred operator is not very clear and simple, then tread very carefully.

iii) Pre Pay Vs Post Pay ?- Most operators provide service on a "Post Pay" basis, that is, you get a bill after you've made the calls, usually a month later. With a Pre Pay account you cannot make calls unless your account is in credit with the operator. In the case of prepay, you will not be able to make calls when you are out of credit and will have to remember to "top up" regularly. Some services automatically debit your credit card when you run low on credit and you would need to be comfortable in giving the operator this ability. With other PrePay accounts you may have to dial a special number before each call and dial in your card pin etc. Some Prepay services may have some advantages, over Post Pay, but before signing up make sure that you are very comfortable with the contract terms, any additional inconvenience regarding "top ups" or Card pins etc;

iv) Savings Guarantee ?- The plethora of different call packages and rates available in the market, can be overwhelming. It is often hard to discover whether you really will save or not. Consumers should consider selecting operators who offer guaranteed savings in the long term. If the operators savings are so good, then they shouldn't mind providing some level of guaranteed savings. Also, ask your proposed operator whether their bill shows you each month how much you have actually saved.

v) Contract Terms - Another consideration is the contractual terms, sometimes the contracts offered may be restrictive and seek to limit the customers ability to terminate the contract (i.e. Minimum contract periods !). Given the level of competition in the market for your business, there should be little need to sign any long term contracts.

vi) Customer References - Checkout your proposed operators customer references. Usually they are on their website, if not ask why ?

vii) Customer Support - Be comfortable with the Customer Support offered by your proposed operator. Do they have a local access number ? They should ! It might be worth calling the customer support before you signup to see how helpful they are with a general query before you sign up.

viii) Are they a Licenced Operator ? - ComReg the Irish communications regulator issues operator licences once the operator meets certain quality criteria. Check on the ComReg website whether your proposed operator is a licenced operator.

viv) Buy Irish ? - Naturally, if at all possible it makes sense to get your phone services from an Irish company, rather than a foreign operator who takes their profits abroad. Remember, even if the company has an irish phone number, it doesn't mean that it is an irish company, so dig a little deeper !

ComReg (The Communications Regulator) has published a useful guide on this topic, called "Excercise your choice - A Consumer Guide to Fixed Telephone services" and it is available from their website.

Commentary : Overall, it makes best sense to select an operator who guarantees you savings, who has a simple pricing structure (i.e. with no convoluted discounts, minimum usage requirements etc), where you have no restrictive contract to sign, and where you have a choice of payment methods. Following extensive evaluation of the Irish telecommunications market we are pleased to recommend Cinergi Telecom to all of our customers.

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