After a two-year hiatus, Phone Watch will return this month with regular updates on the telecommunications industry.

Remember when directory assistance used to be free? In the 1990s, telephone companies began charging for this service, and now many companies charge over $1.00 per call, with some customers paying as high as $1.75 per call for directory assistance. Now a Bay Area company is reintroducing free directory assistance.

More people moving to Georgia, coupled with the explosive growth of wireless phones and Internet technologies, have led to the introduction of a new area code to complement the existing 706 area code in Georgia.