Looking for a phone company that didn't sell my info to the NSA

[AllyCat]

We are at war with SBC/ATT and have found another company that provides DSL/phone service to our small town. Does anyone know anything about TDS Metrocom? Were they involved in selling out on Americans?

[CountAllVotes]

1. I use a company based in India

they don't keep very good or lengthy records because they don't have it together enough to do so in India (it is all paper there still believe it or not). They also offer wireless, I know that much. They might offer other services too. I just switched back to them.

They are known as Primus. Website is www.iprimus.com.

You might want to call them and ask. They have my phone lines once again. I had them for many years up until quite recently but switched back to get away from AT&T long distance.

Good luck.

[ima_sinnic]

8. you're right, they look very good, I have a question for you

I'm actively shopping for a long-distance provider to get away from BellSouth. I call my very ill husband in Jamaica very frequently. Looking at Primus sign-up page (just out of curiosity at this point), they ask if I was referred by a current customer. Would there be a benefit to you if I were able to tell them who referred me? (i.e., would you want to go so far as to let me know your name and number in a PM so you could get whatever credit they will give you? I am only asking to enable you to benefit, not because I'm nosy or anything :) )

[CountAllVotes]

9. Primus offers GREAT rates on overseas calls!

I can testify to this! Wow! They saved me a bundle when I was overseas (calling home every day) last year!

They are very nice people working there and they can also pick up your local toll calls as well as all long distance, USA and international. However, they are not open on the weekends. :D

Primus' phone # is: 1-800-393-3000

They will reimburse you for any switching charges you get hit for like I did (it was $6.90 from AT&T). Bye bye forever AT&T! I'd gladly pay these nice people in India to use my phone WITH PRIVACY (I happen to know that they do own the phone lines because of an experience I had prior to going on the trip last year). :)

When you contact them they very politely ask you if you would please participate in a survery they will email you. I also do the survey thing and rate them highly because WE CANNOT LET PRIMUS GO OUT OF BUSINESS imo!

:kick:

[demswin06]

2. I have Cox cable....

and they have assured me that they do not give out that info to the NSA/Bush terrorists. You do have to be in their service area. Their internet service is also good.However,since it is a cable compnay they will take you for a ride pricewise.

[OrangeCountyDemocrat]

3. I Am Switching To Working Assets

Perhaps someone else here can speak about them, but they seem like a very "Progressive" company, and would not be like at&t, in giving up my info freely.

[lindisfarne]

7. *seem* is the correct word. Working Assets is a private company and

refuses to make public their financial records so it can be assessed how much their profit is, and how much of that profit goes to charities. (They're not non-profit; they are a for-profit company and since they're privately owned, they don't *legally* have to release financial data).

I have chosen to use a much cheaper long distance company (3 cents per minute, any time; no monthly fee, no taxes/fees) and save at least 75% off of what I'd pay to Working Assets. This way, I can give a far larger amount to charities *directly* than WA would give. If the company I use can offer rates so much cheaper than WA, this implies that WA's profits are huge, far larger than what they donate to charities.

Until WA makes public the relevant financial records, I will regard them as a small group of private citizens who discovered a great way to increase their personal wealth: get well-intentioned people to buy your product by promising to give some small amount of money to charities on their behalf. Charge enough so that your profit is huge.

They're not breaking laws - they're just manipulating perceptions. The worst thing, however, is that they are taking money which could be going to charities and putting it in their own pocket. In other words, they're stealing from the people who need it the most, with their misrepresentations and manipulations. I say STEAL because many of their customers would be able to give more to charities if they used a cheaper option; they don't because many don't realize WA is a for-profit company, and because WA refuses to publish what their annual profit is, as well as what percentage of their profit is donated to charities.

See also message #6 about privacy issues when you use a smaller carrier which rents "line time" from the majors.

[porphyrian]

13. Yeah but Working Assets gives you free Ben & Jerry's coupons...

Just sayin'.

[quisp]

4. check working assets out...

and just use your cell for local calls

[mnhtnbb]

5. Switched to Working Assets about a year ago for long distance

Very happy with them.

[lindisfarne]

6. It may be the case that as long as they're using the lines of the major

phone companies, your info. is not safe (it depends on whether the company owning the lines knows the source and destination of the calls - they may very well know this - although when I asked this before, no one responded.)

Voice over Internet Protocol - probably not any safer, but much cheaper.

[unhappycamper]

11. I didn't see your question earlier. Here's a primer on how the

telephone system works:

http://journals.democraticunderground.com/unhappycamper/4

[lindisfarne]

12. Thanks for that - it's what I was almost certain of: they can track calls

regardless of what phone company's bill you pay. I figured technologically, it HAD to be possible; I just didn't know whether there was a computer at every point keeping track of originating and destination phone numbers.

"Let me repeat that again – every switch event on every switch your call touches EVERYWHERE makes a record of your call."

[helderheid]

10. working assets

http://www.workingassets.com/