Phone Cards | Calling Cards

Telecom blog containing phone cards, calilng cards, voip, and conference calls articles

How to get a cell phone calling card that will save you time and money

		Sunday, 27 April 08 - 10:33 PM (GMT) in Phone Cards

Cell phone calling cards offer their users a huge convenience. You are not only free to go wherever you want with your cell phone, but there is no need to worry about an outrageous phone bill at the end of the month. Prepaid phone cards, also referred to as “pay as you go” plans, are ideal for individuals on a strict budget. You can purchase a prepaid cell phone calling card for the value that best fits your needs and your finances. Prepaid cell phone calling card minutes are also great for teenagers. You can provide them with a calling card each month and once the time has expired, there are no overage charges to worry about. Cell phone calling card providers offer convenient pay as you go services, many offer free mobile phones or special reduced prices on new cell phones. There are also no long-term contracts and few termination fees. People who would enjoy the accessibility of a cell phone for emergencies or to keep in touch with family find the prepaid minutes along with a free mobile phone the perfect choice. Cell phone prepaid calling cards can be easily purchased at a number of common places. Many gas stations, newsstands, and even some grocery stores offer great values on discounted calling card rates.

Cell phone prepaid calling cards which ones better?

Selecting the best calling card provider and cell phone calling card plan to meet your needs can be a difficult decision. There are hundreds of phone card choices. How do you decide which one is right for you? Do you know what you should look for when choosing a phone card provider? Many cell phone prepaid calling cards offer low rates or special calling plans with no monthly fee. Always read the fine print on the card and check for any restrictions that may apply to the calling card. Some calling cards include hidden charges, the most common being that each call is rounded up to the next whole minute. You should also ask about possible connection fees as well as extra charges for long phone calls. You will want to choose a calling card company that offers quality customer service to quickly resolve any problems you may have. Most cell phone calling card providers usually activate the card at the time of purchase and most prepaid calling cards have a short life before they expire. If you will not use your cell phone prepaid calling card very often, you should look for the card with the longest time before expiration.

As you shop for a cell phone prepaid calling card, consider these questions:

· What plans are available?
· Are there global roaming rates?
· What are the service and warranty agreements?
· What are the contract terms and what are the penalties for breaking the contract?
· Will the provider allow you to transfer an existing cell phone number?
· Are there any talk and text packages available?
· Are calls within the network free?
· Do they offer any times when calls are free?
· What kind of coverage is available?

Will a cell phone calling card benefit you?

The most attractive feature of prepaid cell phone cards is the ability to regulate your monthly mobile phone bill. At any given time, you can check your usage and know exactly how many minutes remain on your phone. Cell phone calling cards are becoming more and more popular, especially as card rates continue to decrease, but many cell phone users are still not well informed of the benefits of prepaid calling cards.

Telecom Industry Transition: The Wireless Age is Already Here

		Monday, 07 April 08 - 04:46 AM (GMT) in Wireless

VoIP on WiMax will make the latest 3G technologies obsolete before they are completely installed. The reason is because 3G cell phone technology is capable of 2Mbs while WiFi is at 11Mbs in bursts and WiMax will be even greater therefore 3G is not needed as VoIP over WiMax is going to provide more data, faster speeds and greater numbers of users. WiFi and WiMax may actually solve the goals of conquering the digital divide. There will be a small price for this disruptive technology. There will be small legal battles fought such as this one over territory with government agencies and private sector. In the WiFi Online Newsletter commenting on a Wall Street Journal Article we saw Verizon fighting with the City of Philadelphia over their city wide WiFi and if you think about it they do potentially have quite a bit to lose don’t they?

There will also be issues with frequency pollution from other uses in close proximity of the frequency band being sent out. There will be issues with the human biological system, birds, animals and pets. There will also layoffs caused by such disruption and some bluff layoffs to sway political intervention thru careful manipulation of “K-Street” style guerilla lobbying. There will also be issues with first to market and frequency allocations from the FCC. There will be consumer complaints due to bandwidth being used up and services too slow for users.

There are already some heated battles going on with the use of power lines to deliver Internet to the home because it will disrupt Ham Operators. The layoffs in Telecom have been astronomical in recent years. New technologies while they give the industry new life, new directions to grow they also provide for some fierce competition between players. One of the most recent issues was the VoIP FCC ruling, which said that VoIP couldn’t be taxed by states, as it is an Internet Service not a phone service. This was a major ruling for the VoIP Industry and will add billions of dollars in capital from investment banks and venture capital firms.

Recently at a WiFi Verizon Hot Spot and there were six people with computers there, two playing video games on the Internet, One using VoIP another downloading a big file, needless to say surfing at any acceptable speed or collecting 1000 emails (most 90% SPAM) was out of the question. Although patrons have paid $19.95 per month for internet access there will be issues with speed and bandwidth as the Internet is soaked up by VoIP and excessive emails. WiMax promises to solve this problem with speeds of 75MB per second as opposed to the WiFi burst speeds of 11MB or the mobile satellite solutions at 1-2 MB per second. Still all of these solutions blow out of the water the old dial up speeds. 3G Wireless was thought to be the savior, yet with speeds on the very lowest end of the spectrum, even devices like the Blackberry (RIMM), or the AT &T iGO do not stand a chance on such services.

Right now 3G network is nearly complete and works good for phone calls and instant messaging, but is quite lacking for video or picture emailing. As new devices come out such as movie watching, international calling, music downloads, projection video, hologram messages, 3G, 4G even 5G and what some in the industry call 6G will not be able to use with the current 3G towers across the nation. Even with 1000:1 algorithm compression there is a limit on the devices and system. The Telecom Industry has taken a huge hit in the last five years with massive layoffs, accounting irregularities and overpriced bidding for frequency allocation, which amounted to investments based on pie in the sky wishful thinking potential consumer numbers even from a monopolistic standpoint, it was simply not possible. The frenzy to over pay for these frequencies was out of control and we saw the fallout occur as predicted by many an insider.

So how does the future look now? Well, all in all things are looking good, we have capital flows to new entrants, large corporations finding partners and re-investing profits in an industry which seems to have new life blood and can be called anything but static.

Dangers of Using Phone Cards to Call Overseas

		Tuesday, 18 March 08 - 02:57 AM (GMT) in International Calling

To be competitive in the market place phone card suppliers come up with all sorts of ways to make their phone cards look cheaper. Unsuspecting customers generally buy their phone cards based only on the per minute cost of the phone call.

Calling card suppliers know this and try to hide the cost of the phone call in charges other than the call rate. These charges all add up to make the cost of the phone call breakeven after an average length phone call.

Some of the more common ways of hiding calling costs are:

• surcharges
• peak rate call charges
• monthly charges and weekly or daily maintenance or service fees
• quick expiry
• automatic recharge
• frequent or timed disconnections
• large billing increments
• credit card transaction fees

The surcharges are not the same as a connection or flag-fall fee. A surcharge is generally related to the length of a call and charged at a set time interval after you start speaking, so for example after 5 or 10 minutes a fee of 40c may be charged. This is because not everybody’s call is an average length and so the surcharge fee recovers the money for the cheaper call rate. This surcharge can vary depending on the destination you are calling.

If you buy a phone card based on off-peak rates it means it is only really the best card for you during the off-peak period. Most often these off-peak periods are the most inconvenient time of day like 3 am. They are cheaper because the phone card supplier can buy minutes cheaper when no one wants them. You should always buy your calling card based on comparing the peak call rates. That way you are buying the cheapest phone card for when you will actually be using it.

Some calling cards apply a daily, weekly or monthly service fee that eats away at your credit even when you are not using the phone card. With these phone cards it is better to buy the smaller denominations like $5 or $10 and use the whole phone card in one or two calls.

Phone cards have a life lasting from 1 to 12 months. After this they expire and any credit remaining unused on the phone card is lost. The average life of a phone card is 3 months. Any phone cards with a very short life of less than one month should be avoided.

You should be sure to check that your phone card is for a single purchase and that it doesn’t automatically charge your credit card again when it is empty to top up or replenish the minutes on the phone card.

If your phone calls drop out after a certain time and this is at the same point each time it probably has a call duration limit. These are often set to 1 or 2 hours. If they frequently drop out at random times this is due to poor line quality. Limited call durations are not only inconvenient but can be very costly if a fixed call duration is combined with high connection fees. You keep getting disconnected and when you redial you are charged another connection fee.

Usually phone cards are billed in one minute increments. This means that if you talk for two and a half minutes you will be charged for 3 minutes. Your standard telecom landline service is generally billed in 1 or 6 sec increments. Some cards bill in 10 minutes increments which means you need to talk for 10, 20 or 30 minutes to get the best value from the card. If, for example, you talked for 13 minutes your call would be rounded up and you would still be charged for 20 minutes!

Make sure you are not charged a transaction fee when you buy your card using a credit card. Sometimes you only see this on your credit card statement a month later. It will generally be about an additional 2% fee to recover the merchant processing fees the bank charges the phone card supplier for using their processing facilities.

Another danger you must be aware of is that if you loose your phone card the company will not replace it. This is because someone else can find it and use the remaining balance. You should keep a record of the PIN number in a safe place in addition to details printed on the actual card.

Brighter Outlook of Prepaid Calling Card Market

		Monday, 03 March 08 - 06:56 PM (GMT) in Calling Card Industry

Prepaid calling cards exploded in telecommunication market because of the amount expediency that they give to consumers. Prepaid calling is all that is needed in making calls, no need to bring lots of coins just to use pay phone. And, no more prepaid bills since the prepaid calling card you’re using were already paid.

One more reason why prepaid phone cards has fast growing popularity is the capacity that can give the users in order for them to regulate their calling time to save money on a monthly basis. Around Europe and Asia, prepaid calling cards are already been exploding for quite some time now. Since a user can only make specific calls corresponding to the monetary value of the prepaid calling card. Unlike in phone bill, user has no idea and just be surprise will the amounts that calls have reached. There is actually no deposits required, no credit history needed, to attain a prepaid calling card, all you have to do is pay for the card and the user can already make some calls.

The market sales of prepaid calling cards augmented from $750 million to above $3.3 billion in just 5 years. So the revenues in prepaid calling card market over the US and Canada between 1995 and 2000 has rushed forward, the PELORUS Group reported. The domestic and international components of the market at once rose at this period of time.

On the other hand, between the year 2001 and 2002, in North America the prepaid cad market decreased. The domestic prepaid calling card decreased through this phase of time. Nevertheless, the international prepaid calling cards still benefit continually with the growing revenues. The sum of the prepaid calling card revenues jumped back to over $3.2 billion by the rising popularity of the international calling cards.

The rates of international calling have been decreased in past years to bigger parts of the population. The decreased rates were made not only because of the huge competition with prepaid calling card vendors but also with the rising competition to other form of telecommunication and VoIP. But as a result to this, there been rising level of acceptance among consumers. Thus, call times has developed in excess to off set the unfavorable effect of revenue fall down because of lower rates. Even though some other sectors of the market like the domestic calling have sloped down, the net effect is larger increase in revenues.

In 2008, the volume of the international market will be over double the equivalent volume of the domestic market. A report says that in domestic prepaid calling card revenues foreseen to decrease from 2003 until 2008. In contrast with international prepaid calling card revenue which are certainly project to increase by roughly 33%, jumping to an estimation sum of $2.75 billion in 2008.

Yet, the industry of prepaid calling cards in not impermeable to problems. There is even a variety of opinions in regards to rechargeable cards. The issue here is that the retailers do not concur with the idea to sell the rechargeable cards since the sale is a one of a lifetime deal.

The speediest rising method of merchandising is the vending machines. Since this method provides improved security measures the retailers will surely benefit from it. And in addition to that, this method doesn’t require employee participation and only requires lesser inventory.

Less is More with VoIP

		Saturday, 16 February 08 - 05:37 AM (GMT) in VoIP & Telephony

The increasing need for more effective communication in recent times has led to the development of new communication technologies. One of the most important, as well as popular, is VOIP , which has brought radical changes on the telephony market. Using the Internet to make cheap long distance PC to phone calls is the main reason why so many people resort to VoIP solutions. Applications based on the VOIP technology and used to make PC to phone calls are available with any Internet telephony service provider and are easy to set up and use. The advantages of Internet telephony comprise not only the low costs of PC to Phone calls, but also the high quality of voice and file transmissions.

VoIP applications for making PC to phone calls are widely chosen to replace regular landlines. The spreading of Internet telephony has increased along with the number of people who are able to get a broadband internet connection. When it comes to using the VoIP technology for making high quality PC to PC or PC to phone calls, a high-speed connection is essential. As any Internet telephony service provider will inform, dial-up is generally too slow and there is no guarantee that all data packages are safely transmitted. With this technology, a stable protocol like SIP is generally used to transmit data packages quickly and effectively.

Dropping your regular landline in favor of a VoIP solution offered by an Internet telephony service provider does not mean you lose any of the services you are used to. On the contrary, with internet telephony you have only to gain. PC to PC calls are free, while PC to phone calls have very low costs. When using a VoIP application, you have an option to buy credit for prepaid phone calls. If you examine the fees for PC to phone calls, you will realize long distance calls are infinitely cheaper if you decide to go for Internet telephony and give up traditional phones.

Apart from the low costs of prepaid phone calls, high quality is a major reason why so many choose VoIP solutions. Whether you make PC to PC or PC to phone calls, you will have no communication problems. Clarity and lack of variation are distinct advantages with Internet telephony, possibly because the transmission of data packages is commonly made through the SIP protocol. Anyone interested in getting a VoIP application from an Internet telephony service provider will realize that making PC to phone calls poses no difficulties. All these applications have a user friendly interface, very similar to that of the phones you are already accustomed to.

Both household users and companies are frequently worried by the high budget they must allot to communication through the telephone. This is no longer the case for those who decide to replace their traditional landlines with VoIP applications. Once you settle on the use of your computer to make regular PC to phone calls, you will become aware that your budget for telephony can significantly decrease. Moreover, you get to save when it comes to equipment. Using a VoIP application means you no longer need other phones because a headset with earphones and a microphone will suffice, whether you make PC to PC or PC to phone calls.

VoIP solutions go beyond what standard telephony has to offer. Apart from being able to make PC to phone calls, by buying credit for prepaid phone calls from your Internet telephony service provider, other types of data transmission are also possible through the SIP protocol. If both users have the same VoIP application, they can transfer files and make PC to PC calls. Other services available with Internet telephony, apart from the very advantageous prepaid phone calls for PC to phone calls, are options such as call forwarding, call waiting, three-way calls and even video data transmissions.

If you are not familiar with Internet telephony and VoIP, you can not take long in finding out the basics. You can learn how to use the applications offered by any Internet telephony service provider in no time because they look extremely familiar. Once you’ve set up your chosen application, you can buy credit for prepaid phone calls and make all the PC to phone calls you need, without worrying about the costs. Low cost in the case of PC to phone calls is only one of the VoIP advantages. This is why Internet telephony is recommended instead of regular telephony services. If you switch to a broadband phone today, you can be sure to notice the benefits with a more effective communication, both in terms of quality and costs.

Is VoIP for You?

		Saturday, 12 January 08 - 12:52 AM (GMT) in Phone Cards

Internet Phone Call Guide help millions of customers worldwide with award winning quality phone services. Our high-quality Internet telephony solutions have become viable and cost-effective alternatives to traditional telephone calling. Some of affiliate has won numerous awards for its products, services, and global network.  All you will have to do is to download a small telephony program. Every company offering these products has it’s own program with there own functions. The quality of voip call generator systems has recently improved tremendously, it now reaches normal telephony standards it’s even superior in somes cases, especially if you have a high speed connection. Some accessories will also improve the quality of the sound. In this guide we will present to you a list of those accessories at their best possible price. 

Internet Phone refers to communication services such as voice, fax, and voice messaging applications that are transported via the Internet - rather than the public switched telephone network. The basic steps, has taken to originate Internet Phone are the conversion of the analog voice signal into digital format and compression /translation of the signal into Internet protocol. In a short period of time. With support for PC-to-Phone calls, phone-to-phone calls, and Phone-to-PC calls, Internet Phone Calls represents a significant opportunity for the integration of voice and data networks and elimination of substantial costs for consumers, enterprises, and carriers. 

Retail customers have begun to embraced Internet Phone as lowered call costs have established themselves. Corporations, small businesses, and even individual customers have reduced their phone bills by supporting full duplex- real time communication. The launch of session initiation protocol (SIP) will push Internet phone forward, allowing value added developments to Internet telephony, and rapid call setup and teardown.

As Internet phone continues to grow in popularity, Internet Phone Call Guide continues to work to help Internet phone grow and reach its full potential. With Internet phone services from some partners, pc-to-phone rates to the US are as low as 1.2 cents/min, with more programs and promotions constantly being developed to provide you affordable rates with the most optimal service. Internet phone continues to evolve, and Internet Phone Call Guide continues to work to help make Internet phone as beneficial as possible to all customers.

VoIP Phones - Changing the Face of Telephony

		Thursday, 20 December 07 - 05:52 AM (GMT) in VoIP & Telephony

With VoIP phones being introduced in the market the very way telephony was perceived has changed. Gone are the days when you would have to shell out a huge sum to make a long distance or international long distance call. Calling through this new technology i.e. VoIP helps you to save almost 40% on your calling expenditure.

VoIP phones or Internet phone service, as it is popularly referred to as works with the help of Internet. Your voice which is the analog signal format is sent via Internet after it is converted into small digital packets. These digital packets are then reconverted into analog signal format before they reach the final destination. This type of phone service, thus, helps in saving a tremendous amount of money as the calls are terminated through Internet which is relatively cheaper than optical fiber wires.

There are two types of long distance phone service available in the market as of now. One is the paid service and there is also a free Internet phone service. As obvious from name itself, the free Internet phone service is completely free of cost. There are number of VoIP service providers offering this service. One can easily search for a provider giving free phone service and then download the dialer from their website. Enter the destination number along with the proper country code or area code. Hit enter and, walah, you are connected! It’s just that simple.

On the other hand is the paid internet phone service. Numerous VoIP service providers are offering VoIP call termination service at a nominal rate. Depending upon your needs and requirements you can opt for either free or paid VoIP service.

Volunteer of Study Abroad with Overseas Student Prepaid Phone Cards

		Thursday, 20 December 07 - 05:49 AM (GMT) in Phone Cards

The recruitment’s process for volunteer abroad is very selective. Sometimes it gets worse than a working one since limitations don’t depend on what a person is able to do, but on how a person is. In addition to flexibility, or the desire to go through a different experience; It’s a challenge which has to come up from the inside, from the awareness that the world (as agreed upon by a group of people) is in need of help but not necessarily in way that requires its change. This basically means that volunteer abroad goes together with the personal and professional growth of a person, since aspects of both personality and career can be developed.

When it comes to career concerns, a person who joins a volunteer abroad organization is going to get involved more easily in projects which focus on specific fields of study or interests when compared to working in an internal environment. This is especially true when the choice is between jobs which are related to science, engineering, or architecture. At this point the possibilities become even higher. A growth on a personal level is also expected, since there’ are no other experience better than volunteer abroad to become aware of your own limits and trying to go beyond them.

This is something which employers all over the world may want to avoid, since it represents a successful personal ability to take into account many things. When it comes to requirements for starting a working experience abroad, joining teams of volunteers also deals with an accuracy which has to be spread until technical devices are available. This is especially important once the team of volunteers arrive in the country. These technical devices are extremely important, especially when it comes to international communication.

It’s somewhat rare to find an optimal method of working communication lines in such places. Getting a prepaid overseas student phone card may not be enough for a volunteer’s environment, especially if the duration of this experience is not seasonal, but an experience that may last for years. International volunteer abroad phone cards are supposed to include their rates and costs for additional services which will function on or with reference to the prepaid account.

The recharge is the first of these above mentioned services to be included, and maybe the most important. Also, in certain situations, especially in a volunteer environment, having an appropriate coverage against any cutting in the communication is crucial. What’s important at the time of deciding for an international volunteer abroad phone card is the package, and knowing under what conditions a person is going to go. You should also be aware of the many risks that come with the local phone service. It could be out of order, or the average availability may not be high. Such inquiries are also useful for a person to determine the rate of his purchase when additional services like fax mail, text messages, or internet access must be added.

Conference Calling Rates

		Thursday, 20 December 07 - 04:29 AM (GMT) in Conference Calls

When choosing which conference calling service to do business with, it’s a good idea to have an idea of what kind of rates to expect. Most conference call services will charge rates based on the amount of time used, the amount of people or locations involved in the call, a set-up fee or a membership fee, and surcharges for particular calls placed. There are some companies that will charge rates based only on the minutes used. There will be no set up fees, no membership costs, and very few, if any surcharges. The services offered by each will vary as well.

A typical conference calling company will charge you some sort of monthly or yearly fee for their services. It may be a membership fee, it may be a fee that covers part of your expenses for that month, and it may be a fee to buy so many minutes of conference calling time. Whatever it is used for, it is usually a part of your expenses as a conference call service user. When a conference call is set up, you will then be charged a certain per minute fee that is multiplied by the number of participants in the conference. For instance, if there are three participants and the charge is ten cents a minute, you’ll actually be paying thirty cents a minute. Those charges can add up fast when there are many participants and the conference lasts longer lengths of time.

A flat rate conference provider offers something a little bit different which they claim will not cost as much as the other service providers yet will offer comparable services. These types of services charge a flat rate per minute based only on number of lines dialed in. There are no service fees or membership fees. Anyone can call in and participate all over the world. There can be up to fifty participants joined into the conference call. There is no operator assistance necessary; everything can be done through the moderator of the conference call. There is no reservation necessary. These calls can take place any time, twenty four hours a day and no notice is necessary. There is toll free customer support included if necessary and all participants dial in using a toll free number.

Rates can vary greatly from company to company offering these conferencing services. Be sure to research each one thoroughly before you decide which company to provide your conference calls through. Each will have its benefits and drawbacks and those will outweigh one another until you’ve found the service that will work within your budget and timeline. Conference calling services, no matter which company you go with, will still save you a bundle over travel expenses for one or more associate to attend a conference. No matter which service you choose, you’ll be making a money saving decision when you decide to use conference calling.

Family Conference Calls? Great for the Holidays & Family Reunions

		Monday, 17 December 07 - 06:26 PM (GMT) in Conference Calls

Get the family together by starting a family conference call with a prepaid conference calling card.

Now more than ever we’re dispersed across the globe, busy with our careers, pursuing educational endeavors, and raising children. As much as we would like to stay in communication with our families, it is often difficult to get together at a time and place that everyone can accommodate. We do our best to call family members one at a time to touch-base, but it never quite feels the same as sharing with the entire family.

Luckily, over the past few years telecommunication products and services have advanced to the point where we can communicate with one another across vast distances at a very low cost with exceptional clarity. One such alternative, which can help your family get together, is conference calling.

Starting or joining a family conference call is easy and very inexpensive. There is no need to change long distance carriers. There is no complicated User’s Guide to read. And again…it’s incredibly cheap to start or join a family conference call.

How easy? It really is as easy as 1) Buy a conference call PIN, 2) Give family members your Access Code and a toll-free access number or toll access number, and 3) Start talking.

How cheap? Some conference call service providers offer free trials and very cheap per minute rates (compared to the Big Bells). Depending on which conference calls service provider you choose, starting or joining a conference call in the USA can cost under 5¢/min. If a family member is outside of the USA, he/she can still join at a relatively cheap rate per minute using an international toll-free access number or a local toll access number if necessary. Even the most conservative long distance budget can now include room for a family conference call.

Take charge this holiday season and get the family together by hosting a family conference call, or virtual family reunion.

Conference Calls is an easy-to-use advanced prepaid teleconference service which can reduce your company's long distance phone costs by up to 90%. With its feature rich call management controls and calling flexibility, employees can start or join a USA-based conference call or an international conference call from virtually anywhere in the world.

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