AT&T predicts it will handle 94 million long-distance calls on Christmas Day, a record number and a 10 percent increase over last year.
An AT&T spokesman in the company's Salt Lake office said Christmas Day is typically the busiest holiday of the year for long-distance calling, followed by Mother's Day and then Father's Day.Long-distance calling is one of the few services that have decreased in price over the years, the spokesman said. Forty years ago, a 10-minute daytime coast-to-coast Christmas call cost $6.84. That same call this year on AT&T lines is just $1.49.
AT&T's lower evening rates will be in effect from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Dec. 25, 34 percent below, on average, its standard direct-dialed weekday prices. Holiday rates will apply to AT&T state-to-state calls from all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
To get the most benefit from your holiday calling, AT&T suggests that you:
- Call between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. within the United States, when volumes are usually lower. If calling internationally, consider calling Christmas Eve.
- Dial directly, including international calls. Most customers can dial their own calls directly to 190 foreign countries and territories. Local telephone directories can help you determine whether you can dial a specific country directly. (AT&T customers who need international calling assistance can call 800-874-4000.)
- Be sure you've reached your chosen long-distance company from public phones when traveling over the holidays. AT&T customers need to listen for the AT&T name and, if they don't hear it, hang up and dial 10-ATT-0, then the number they're calling.