10-10-321
Encyclopedia
10-10-321 is a United States
long-distance phone service best known for its prolific television and direct mail advertising in the late 1990s. 10-10-321 was the first mass-marketed service of its type, and it and the similar 10-10-220 and 10-10-900 services were all owned by Telecom USA, which was owned by MCI
. All services of its kind essentially allow consumers to bypass, or "dial-around" their primary long-distance carrier and use a different one.
The services originally used just 10- followed by a 3-digit number, such as 10-321, but quickly ran out of numbers. They advertised various savings over traditional long-distance companies.
The carrier access code had always existed previous to the late 90s round of advertising, originally conceived as a way for consumers to shop around and try other long distance carriers. In practice it was little used and extremely obscure. In the late 80s those computer modem users who dialed long distance from strange places commonly used it to use better quality long distance lines.
The services were advertised heavily, using celebrities such as Alf
, John Lithgow
, Reginald VelJohnson
, John Stamos
, Tony Danza
, James Garner
, Christopher Lloyd
, Dennis Miller
and George Carlin
. This ubiquitous presence on television led to an inevitable spill-over into pop culture for a brief time.
By the early 2000s, the steep discounts were no longer offered, rates increased as much as 80 percent in fall 2002, with 10-10-321 going from 10 cents a minute to 18 cents on October 1, 2002. A year earlier, a 9.9 percent "Universal Service Fund
" charge had been added. The television advertising has since become much less common. In addition, the widely increased use of cell phones in the early 2000s, and subsequent decline in the use of landline phones, has rendered the service somewhat antiquated. Much of this is because many phone service plans do not charge additionally for long distance calls (cell phones, Vonage
, VoicePulse
, etc.).
Both 10-10-220, 10-10-321, and other 10-10 services are still available, although at significantly higher prices than originally advertised. The current rate for the 321 service is a flat 20¢ per minute, while the 220 service runs $1.20 for the first 10 minutes and 20¢ for each minute afterward.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
long-distance phone service best known for its prolific television and direct mail advertising in the late 1990s. 10-10-321 was the first mass-marketed service of its type, and it and the similar 10-10-220 and 10-10-900 services were all owned by Telecom USA, which was owned by MCI
MCI Inc.
MCI, Inc. is an American telecommunications subsidiary of Verizon Communications that is headquartered in Ashburn, Virginia...
. All services of its kind essentially allow consumers to bypass, or "dial-around" their primary long-distance carrier and use a different one.
The services originally used just 10- followed by a 3-digit number, such as 10-321, but quickly ran out of numbers. They advertised various savings over traditional long-distance companies.
The carrier access code had always existed previous to the late 90s round of advertising, originally conceived as a way for consumers to shop around and try other long distance carriers. In practice it was little used and extremely obscure. In the late 80s those computer modem users who dialed long distance from strange places commonly used it to use better quality long distance lines.
The services were advertised heavily, using celebrities such as Alf
ALF (TV series)
ALF is an American science fiction sitcom that originally aired on NBC from 1986 to 1990, created by Paul Fusco. The title character was Gordon Shumway, a friendly extraterrestrial nicknamed ALF , who crash lands in the garage of the suburban middle-class Tanner family.The series starred Max...
, John Lithgow
John Lithgow
John Arthur Lithgow is an American actor, musician, and author. Presently, he is involved with a wide range of media projects, including stage, television, film, and radio...
, Reginald VelJohnson
Reginald VelJohnson
Reginald VelJohnson is an American actor of film, stage and television, well known for his role as Carl Winslow on the sitcom Family Matters, where he was the only cast member to appear in every single episode. He also portrayed LAPD Sgt...
, John Stamos
John Stamos
John Phillip Stamos is an American actor, singer and musician best known for his work in television, especially in his starring role as Jesse Katsopolis on the ABC sitcom Full House. Since the cancellation of that show in 1995, Stamos has appeared in numerous television films and series. From 2006...
, Tony Danza
Tony Danza
Tony Danza is an American actor best known for starring on the TV series Taxi and Who's the Boss?, for which he was nominated for an Emmy Award and four Golden Globe Awards...
, James Garner
James Garner
James Garner is an American film and television actor, one of the first Hollywood actors to excel in both media. He has starred in several television series spanning a career of more than five decades...
, Christopher Lloyd
Christopher Lloyd
Christopher Allen Lloyd is an American actor. He is best known for playing Emmett Brown in the Back to the Future trilogy, Uncle Fester in The Addams Family and Addams Family Values, and Judge Doom in Who Framed Roger Rabbit. He played Reverend Jim Ignatowski in the television series Taxi and more...
, Dennis Miller
Dennis Miller
Dennis Miller is an American stand-up comedian, political commentator, actor, sports commentator, and television and radio personality. He is known for his critical assessments laced with pop culture references...
and George Carlin
George Carlin
George Denis Patrick Carlin was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, actor and author, who won five Grammy Awards for his comedy albums....
. This ubiquitous presence on television led to an inevitable spill-over into pop culture for a brief time.
By the early 2000s, the steep discounts were no longer offered, rates increased as much as 80 percent in fall 2002, with 10-10-321 going from 10 cents a minute to 18 cents on October 1, 2002. A year earlier, a 9.9 percent "Universal Service Fund
Universal Service Fund
The Universal Service Fund was created by the United States Federal Communications Commission in 1997 to meet Congressional universal service goals as mandated by the Telecommunications Act of 1996...
" charge had been added. The television advertising has since become much less common. In addition, the widely increased use of cell phones in the early 2000s, and subsequent decline in the use of landline phones, has rendered the service somewhat antiquated. Much of this is because many phone service plans do not charge additionally for long distance calls (cell phones, Vonage
Vonage
Vonage is a publicly held commercial voice over IP network and SIP company that provides telephone service via a broadband connection. The company's name is a play on their motto "Voice-Over-Net-AGE"....
, VoicePulse
VoicePulse
VoicePulse is a New Jersey-based American communications company that uses its VoIP network to deliver phone service to residential and business consumers.VoicePulse was founded in North Brunswick, New Jersey in April 2003 by Ravi Sakaria.-External links:...
, etc.).
Both 10-10-220, 10-10-321, and other 10-10 services are still available, although at significantly higher prices than originally advertised. The current rate for the 321 service is a flat 20¢ per minute, while the 220 service runs $1.20 for the first 10 minutes and 20¢ for each minute afterward.