Calling Destinations for US Phone Cards
January 25, 2008
While not the most up to date information (the numbers are from 2004), the following data still remains fairly indicative of the current market:
Breakdown by Continent:
- North and Central America = 30% (this has no doubt decreased since 04)
- South America = 19% (this has no doubt increased since 04)
- Western Europe = 13%
- Asia = 10%
- Eastern Europe = 7%
- Caribbean = 6%
- Africa = 6%
- Other = 9%
Collecting Phone Cards 101
January 23, 2008
Everything you wanted to know about Collecting Phone Cards
Collecting phone cards, calling cards or, as they are often called, telecards is America’s fastest growing hobby after collecting Pokemon cards. Although phonecards as a consumer commodity are only about 25 years old they come in a mutiplicity of forms and like stamp collecting they are printable. The very fact that a phone card can have anything printed on it makes it collectable. Add to this the fact that cards are mostly printed in limited runs. This results in scarcities of each card as there are a finite number of that particular run.
Here are some of the features that a phone card collector would look for:
- Cards are made of different materials
- Plastic
- Layer thickness
- Layer Construction
- Layer material
- Paper
- Plastic
Was Your Phone Card Stolen?
January 23, 2008
Card Loss and Theft
Everything you wanted to know about the Card Loss and Theft
It is generally good practice to keep a record of all your phone card, calling card, credit card, bank account, passport, ID, Social Security, tax and driving licence numbers in one place. We recommend a small notebook which should be locked away in some secure place or kept in a safety deposit box,strongroom or safe. Many financial institutions have safety deposit boxes at a minimal annual rental.
What To Know When Buying a Phone Card?
January 23, 2008
What pitfalls are there when I choose a calling card?There are a whole series of things to watch out for:
- Phone cards Expire.
Many phone cards have an expiry date. Normally this begins the first time the card is used. You can call up to the value available on the phone card until you reach the cutoff date. Typically ranges are 14 days, 30 day, six months, or one year. Generally all unused minutes are lost when the card expires. (This is not always the case and on some cards lost minutes can be recouped by upgrading) - Billing Increments.
This is the minimum call duration and the increment used to calculate the call cost. Typically calling cards have a one minute minimum. Beware the cards that have minimum times of two to three minutes. You should consider cards that have a 60 second minimum and have a low billing increment. Low billing increments start at 6 seconds
Phone Card Billing 101
January 22, 2008
Who keeps the score and how are the minutes used recorded?As calls are made, the numberof usable minutes is automaticallydeducted from the card balance bythe phone card provider. Connectionfees and surcharges are convertedinto minutes and deducted in the sameway as the call is made. This is normallyrecorded on the calling card company’scomputer system. Some cards (particularlythe early calling cards) record theusage on the actual card itself.
How do I know how much time, (or money) is left on my card?Your balance is normally given each time you call the access number and enter your PIN.
How do I know I am running out of minutes on a prepaid card?On most cards you are notified how many minutes are remaining at the beginning of each call. In general you will be interrupted during your conversation when you are down to the last two or three minutes.
Ins & Outs of Phone Card Charges
January 22, 2008
Phone Cards have become sophisticated and there are many ways for phone card companies to charge you more. All phone cards have a combination of one or more of the following charges:
- Timebased charge:
The actual time you spend onlineeither in units purchased or a timeincrement in seconds. The time incrementsvary from 1 second to 5 minutes. - ConnectionFee:
A one off charge for initiatinga single call. Each and every timeyou use the card and your partyanswers, you will be charged a connectionfee which will be deducted fromthe available minutes. This amountis deducted from the card valueeither in money or in minutes. Ifa calling card has a very low perminute rate, the chances sare ithas either a high connection feeor a surcharge. It is a logicalextension that cards with a connectionfee are hopeless for short durationphone calls whereas they may behighly effective for long duration calling.
What is a Phone Card?
January 22, 2008
Everything you wanted to know about Calling Cards
A calling card or phone card is defined as telecommunication credit card with an Identification Code for using a pre-selected long distance carrier when the customer is away from their home or office.
Phone cards are now being used extensively for residential calls. Phone cards are often considerably cheaper than collect calling, coin operated payphones or having the phone call charged to your hotel or motel room.
Phone cards or calling cards are available in prepaid and credit (monthly billed) forms. Typically a calling card user will pick up a phone anywhere and dial a predetermined number (often Toll Free).
The phone card user is then prompted for a user ID and/or a Password or both, before dialing the number they require. “Cards” is a misnomer as some calling cards are available without the issue of an actual plastic “credit card” and are delivered in PIN only from.
Some calling cards defraud, according to study
January 22, 2008
A recent study made by the Hispanic Institute, based in Washington, D.C., revealed that when buying certain prepaid phone cards, you might not be getting what was advertised.
The study included 45 calling cards. Each card was tested for one call each to Mexico and Guatemala. Around 30% of the 45 cards tested delivered the full call-time promised. 7 of the 45 cards (15.6%) tested didn’t work at all while 8 of the cards tested had call completion rates of 50% or less. The 3 cards left provided less than 20% of the minutes promised.
Carla Ramos, co-owner of Garibaldi Latino Market, said she tries to steer customers to cards that are recommended by other customers. She said some cards will work better in calling particular countries or states within the United States.
“Some of the cards with try to defraud people but not all companies,” she said.
VoIP Event Calendar
January 22, 2008
China Broadband Triple Play Conference
March 26-27, 2008
Presidential Plaza Hotel, Beijing, Chinax
The 5th annual China Broadband Triple Play Conference will once more bring together operators, technology suppliers, government officials and others. For service provider executives, it offers the chance to engage with industry professionals and thought leaders on key issues. You will be joining more than 500 executives to discuss the business, technical, content and other critical issues. Led by eminent engineer and scholar Jiang Lintao, Chief Engineer, China Academy of Telecom Research of MII.
For more information:
Website: http://www.china-tripleplay-iptv.com/
Phone: +852-28651118
Email: peter.lee@infoexws.com
Award-Winning XMediusFAX and SAGEM ATAs @ European Cisco Event
January 21, 2008
Sagem-Interstar Inc. (SAFRAN Group), the global leader in boardless IP fax software for VoIP networks since 2002, recently showcased its award-winning XMediusFAX Fax over IP (FoIP) server technology at the prominent Cisco Networkers 2008 conference (Booth E68), on January 21 to 24 in Barcelona, Spain.
“This conference gives us yet another opportunity to demonstrate our technology leadership in the Cisco VoIP community,” said Jean Champagne, General Manager of Sagem-Interstar. “From our market-dominating XMediusFAX IP fax server to the new SAGEM Fax ATA 101S, we’re providing customers with the industry’s most cost-effective, state-of-the-art fax solutions for full and seamless integration within Cisco-powered Unified Communications environments.”
XMediusFAX caters to organizations of any size. Whether they have deployed or plan to deploy a VoIP telephony infrastructure, XMediusFAX enables organizations to FAXimize their Cisco IP network. Field-proven to manage large fax volumes and deliver high levels of reliability and availability, XMediusFAX connects to Cisco voice gateways via SIP or H.323. XMediusFAX is tested compatible with Cisco’s T.38 Fax Relay via the following Cisco VoIP gateways: 1700, 1800, 2600, 2800, 3600, 3700, 3800, 7200, 7300, and 7600 CMM Series; and AS5300, AS5400, and AS5800 Series.
