Firstly, everyone should be aware that IST has negotiated special rates with ATT for long-distance business calling which are much lower than tarriff rates one might otherwise pay without it. Our corporate ATT Calling Card can be a valuable job tool IF used according to the following instructions.

Problem: An unexpected high charge of many hundreds of dollars for an international or long distance call appearing on an IST bill statement.

Solution: Prevention

Reading the following easy money-saving tips may spare you having to deal with this problem, or explaining to others why it happened to them.

If your faculty travels alot, it might even be good to post this information in a conspicuous place, like over faculty mailboxes or the fax machine in your department

****************************************************************

Avoid paying "tariff" rates!

1. Make sure you are using the correct, replacement AT&T Corporate Calling Card which was issued to all departments in 2004. This card has the correct Access Number on the front:

   1-888 822-1258

   If you do NOT have this card, destroy any old ones which don't have this number on the front, check the voice service review menu in CNS Shopping Cart to make sure the user doesn't already have a new one they're not using and (if necessary)order a new one through CNS Shopping Cart. Old ones have already been cancelled and if anyone tries to use them, they'll wind up needing operator assistance and will be charged the HIGHEST tariff rates for any calls made.This can amount to differences of hundreds of dollars on a single call.

2. Closely follow the special instructions on the back of the card.

3. Again, do not call the operator to place the call or you will be billed at much higher rates for domestic calls and exponentially higher for international calls. Users should also know that international calls coming into the United States are much more expensive than outgoing because a large part of those charges is subject to the rates from the nation of the call's origin rather than the ones we get from ATT. In various cases, when one plans for a trip outside the US, one might do better to shop for other independant services sold in the country to which they're traveling to call into the US.

   We at IST hope these facts can save faculty and staff members the frustration of being charged needlessly high rates for business calls made on the job. We will be sending out more of these tips in hopes we can all save money.

   We do appreciate our campus community at UC Berkeley and wish to do the best job we can serving you.