Talk isn't cheap? For cellphone users, not talking is costly, too

 If you're like most cellphone users, you probably think you're paying less than
10 cents per minute for calls. Think again.

I got a sneak peek at the report the other day.

Researchers arrived at the
average $3.02-per-minute charge by comparing the average number of minutes
charged in more than 700 San Diego consumers' telecom bills and dividing by the
average number of actual minutes used.

"We knew it was a myth that
wireless costs were going down," said Michael Shames, UCAN's executive director.
"But we were blown away by the actual costs."

That $3-per-minute figure is skewed by the relatively small percentage of people
who pay for a lot of minutes but barely use any. But even when those folk are
taken out of the mix, most wireless customers still pay between 50 cents and $1
per minute, the study found.

Shames said this wasn't a problem just for
San Diego residents. He said the findings of the report were representative of
cellphone use and bills nationwide.

That's something to keep in mind as
an increasing number of people abandon traditional land lines and embrace a
wireless-only lifestyle. More than ever, you have to make sure you're in a
calling plan that fits your needs.

Among other findings in the report:

* Only about 8% of land line
customers pay less than 10 cents per minute for long-distance calls. The
majority pay well over 10 cents per minute, with 20% of people paying more than
50 cents per minute and 10% paying more than $1.

* The cost of additional
phone services has soared. In AT&T's case, the cost of call waiting has
risen 86% since 2004, the cost of an unlisted number is up 346% and the cost of
directory assistance has skyrocketed 1,630%.

* The average cellphone
customer uses only about a third of "any time minutes" allowed by most wireless
plans. The rest are paid for but wasted.

Many of the findings --
particularly the average cost per minute of wireless service -- have been
speculated about for years by telecom observers. The UCAN report represents one
of the first attempts to quantify costs based on a relatively broad sample of
customers.

Bottom line: Most telecom customers are buying more product
than they use, and that's pure gravy for service providers.

"It's hard
for customers to gauge how much of this product they're going to use," Shames
said. "The phone companies basically force you to calculate in advance something
that's very difficult to calculate."

The big dogs of the telecom industry
-- AT&T Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc. -- insist that they're
dedicated to making customers happy and ensuring that people have the best
possible calling plans for their needs.

"We encourage people to look at
their bill, question their bill, and call us if they see anything that's not
right," said John Britton, an AT&T spokesman.

Ken Muche, a spokesman
for Verizon Wireless, echoed this sentiment. "If you're not using the total
amount of minutes in the bucket, we'll work with you to get you on the right
plan," he said.

The trick, of course, is that consumers have to be
proactive in tracking the number of minutes used each month and shopping around
for the most suitable plan. Shames said the UCAN study found that most people
don't take the time to look closely at their telecom bills.

For that
matter, the study found that most bills were written and formatted so opaquely
that even when customers tried to decipher their statements, they often couldn't
make heads or tails out of what they were being charged for.

Shames said land line customers needed to be wary of long-distance plans that
included monthly fees along with per-minute charges. He also said cellphone
customers should explore pay-as-you-go plans that allow you to purchase minutes
in advance, and to buy additional minutes in relatively small amounts so no
money is wasted.

Be careful, though. AT&T, for example, offers
pay-as-you-go plans that might seem penny wise at first but actually can cost
some serious coin.

One plan charges cellphone customers 10 cents per minute plus $1 for every day
you use the phone. Another skips the daily fee but costs 25 cents per
minute.

The UCAN report recommends that federal regulators require a
"cost-per-minute box" on all phone bills so that customers know exactly how much
they're being charged, and standardize taxes so that customers can more easily
compare one service with another.

Providers frequently list taxes and
fees differently, making it tough for many people to understand exactly what
they're paying for.

We have millions of customers grossly overpaying for services," Shames
said.

He said a copy of the UCAN study will be sent to the Federal
Communications Commission. Maybe something will come of that.

But
something tells me all we'll get is a busy signal.

David Lazarus' column
runs Wednesdays and Sundays. Send your tips or feedback to david .  lazarus@latimes.com.