10-10-321 is a long-distance phone service best known for its prolific television advertising in the late 1990s. 10-10-321 was the first mass-marketed service of its type, and it and the similar 10-10-240 service were both 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.[1]
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, most famously 10-10-240 offered 20 minutes for $0.99 and $0.10 a minute after that.[2]
The services were both advertised heavilly, using celebrities such as James Garner, Dennis Miller and George Carlin.[3] This ubiquitous presence on television lead to an inevitable spillage over into pop culture for a brief time.
By the early 2000s, the steep discounts were no longer offered, and they saw rate increases as much as 80% in fall 2002, with 10-10-321 going from 10 cents a minute to 18 cents on October 1. A year earlier, a 9.9% "Universal Service Fund" charge had been added.[1] The television advertising has since become much less common.
References
Extrenal links
- 1010321.com
- 10-10 Mania Contemporary satire of the craze by The Onion