Ameritech, long seen by students as having a monopoly on the phone market in Evanston, is finding itself in an increasingly competitive market these days.
In addition to facing competition from cell phone companies, Ameritech was the target of an aggressive MCI advertising campaign this summer. MCI has been offering local service in Illinois since December.
“MCI was the company that brought choice to the long-distance market and now we’re bringing choice to the local market,” MCI spokeswoman Audrey Waters said. “The competition has definitely been well received.”
MCI, mainly a long-distance provider, currently offers local service in only six states, Waters said. The other five are Georgia, Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania and Texas.
“We already offered long-distance service,” she said. “In addition to getting our long-distance customers to bundle their long-distance service with their local, we are also trying to get customers who didn’t have us for long-distance.”
Ameritech provides only local service, although the company says it is working to enter the long-distance market.
Some students said they would consider switching to MCI if it were cheaper.
“I considered switching to MCI but then I got a cell phone,” said Music senior Emily Price, who is keeping an Ameritech phone line for her computer. “I will look into MCI, and if they have a cheaper local plan, I’ll probably switch to them.”
Graduate student Gabriella Musacchia said she tried to set up service with MCI when she moved to Evanston this month after a friend told her MCI offered better service at cheaper rates.
But when she called Ameritech to ask about switching she was told she could get MCI for only long-distance since her housemates already had phone lines set up through Ameritech.
“I’m new to town – I’m just trying to work it all out,” Musacchia said. “But I don’t think it’s a very good business practice to lie to the customers.”
Musacchia said she used a cell phone in San Francisco but cannot afford to pay for one in Evanston in addition to her Ameritech charges.
Ameritech spokeswoman Julie Marcus said the company is working to create a more competitive market.
“We see it as more people offering different services and more companies entering the markets,” Marcus said.
“The more competition the better. Once people have more choices and more options, then prices go down.”
Currently Ameritech has 6.3 million phone lines in Illinois, while its competitors, mainly MCI and AT&T, have 1.3 million, Marcus said.
Although Waters would not comment directly on the effect cell phones were having on MCI’s market, she said the market left room for personal choice.
“Everybody uses a phone for different purposes,” Waters said. “It is up to the individual to determine which service best meets their needs.”