TELCOS OFFER BETTER LONG DISTANCE SERVICE
By Adnews Staff
The 11 provincial and regional phone companies in the Stentor Alliance say they can now offer businesses long distance phone service with a lot fewer hassles. This is due to an agreement signed with Concert Communications Company, a joint venture launched in 1994 by U.S.-based MCI Communications and British Telecommunications PLC. Businesses that sign up for the Concert service, through Bell Canada or one of the other Stentor companies, will be dialling shorter codes for international calls and they'll find it simpler to hold conference calls. They will also be able to funnel all their long distance business through one office, which will simplify billing and make it easier to keep track of long distance usage. Sending data will also be simplified. At an unveiling of the service yesterday, the companies involved said it could eventually trickle down to consumers. People are starting to call conferencing at work, and they may eventually want to do it at home. Concert is also being used by Microsoft Corporation for the Internet service that is part of Windows 95. MCI and Stentor are also planning an Internet service. Ads promoting Concert will run in business and financial publications for about the next two weeks. They were done by Toronto-based BBDO Canada.