Advertising to fuel long distance calls service

By BETH LUCAS
Collegian Staff Writer

Long distance phone calls can be free with a new service.

BroadPoint Communications offers 15 free long distance phone calls per week to those who register for its service, FreeWay, on its World Wide Web site, www.broadpoint.com. BroadPoint announced Tuesday it is available nationwide and open to advertisers in the area. It had focused previously on Pittsburgh.

The calls are paid for by the more than 80 advertisers whose ads are played before calls are made.

"Our goal is to develop a new medium -- a new kind of advertiser-sponsored service," said Martin Healy, BroadPoint vice president of consumer affairs. "We extend the whole service to everyone, not just those with money."

However, MCI World Communications spokesperson Charlie Sutlive does not consider such a service to be a threat to the overall long distance business.

"With the incredible value of long distance today, I think it is an intrusive product," he said. "I don't think there will be a broad appeal, except maybe in small niches, like college campuses."

The system allows consumers to tally up two minutes of phone time per commercial they listen to. For example, if a consumer is willing to listen to 20 commercials lasting five to 15 seconds each, he or she can earn 40 minutes worth of long distance time.

The minutes accumulated are only for the current phone call and are not saved if the call does not connect. Calls can be made to any location within the United States from anywhere, including payphones.

It can take up to two months to get a pin number to access FreeWay, Healy said, because pin numbers are given out as money from advertisers comes in.

Fred Hurvitz, owner of Mid-Atlantic Tele-Call, a local long-distance phone company, also does not see FreeWay affecting business.

"Rates have already come down so dramatically," he said.

FreeWay could be an alternative for students who make a large number of long distance calls.

The average charge for AT&T on-campus long distance services is about $30 a month, said Linda Witt, manager for the Long Distance Program at Penn State.

Dorm phone calls cost 15 cents per minute during the week between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. After 7 p.m. and on weekends, the charge is 10 cents per minute, Witt said.

FreeWay is just the first part of a sequence of advertiser-sponsored services Broadpoint will have available, Healy said.

"We plan on offering Internet and cell phone services also in the future. We will definitely expand, eliminating the barrier of price."