Prepaid Phone Card - Make Non-Stop Overseas Calls with Sufficiently Charged International Phone Card
Making international calls would cost you a fortune – it was true since a decade ago. Now people opt for international prepaid phone cards that allow them to make long distance international calls at dirt cheap rates.
Long distance phone cards become cheaper with availability of international phone card from variety of prepaid calling card companies. Philippine phone card rates for example today starts with just 5.3 ¢ per minute and card value starts at as low as $ 5 (94 minutes for $ 5). These are real phone calls and are not redirected through VOIP (for people from mars – VOIP stands for voice over internet protocol). These use and throw international long distance phone cards come with zero connection charges. Call rates can be a bit higher when making calls from or to cellular phones.
The biggest advantage of prepaid phone card, cheap international calling card products are that you never have to cancel the service of your regular phone service provider. Use the PIN to access your prepaid calling card, make the call and talk to your hearts content (till the balance drains out). Online phone card vendors offer variety of long distance phone card, cheap phone card products. Prepaid international calling cards or international phone calling card makes international calling cheaper.
The telephony revolution that lifted world off its feet today makes it more accessible for friends, family and business persons reach out to people on the other side of the world. Europe phone card, calling card Sri Lanka, calling card from Italy are all normal phrases that companies use to advertise customized products.
Most prepaid international card is accessible from all parts of continental USA. International phone calling card doesn't tie one to any particular operator. Customers can just buy any prepaid phone calling card and use it as cheap international calling card. Just throw away the card after use. The prepaid phone card also comes with refilling options, where one can refill international calling cards with additional amounts. However, more prominence to use and throw calling cards!
Prepaid phone cards come with zero maintenance fees, zero joining fees and zero monthly subscription fees. However, prepaid phone card that charges users 9 ¢ a week has lower call rates and more number of minutes to talk than the international prepaid phone card that charges more cents per minute. Prepaid phone card comes in different denominations and the cost of a single card starts at $ 5. The most common denomination prepaid phone card is of $ 20.
The phone validity of international prepaid phone cards varies between 90 days and 365 days after its first usage. Some prepaid phone cards are valid up to 365 days of last use of the card, an option that people hardly use. The amount you save with prepaid phone card adds up to hundreds of dollars if you are regular at calling up your friends, relatives or business partners with an India phone card, Philippines phone card or Sri Lanka phone card. Or in other words, you always save considerable phone bills when using cheap international phone cards.
The Best Conference Call Services For Business
Q. I truly think that a conference call service is something my business can use. What are some available conference call services for business needs?
A. Conference call services for business need range from very to simple to very elaborate. Whether or not you are able to benefit from these services is entirely dependent upon the type of business you are in, average budget and also whether or not this is a one time thing, or is it going to be frequent? Since none of this information was specified, I'll just cover them all. First of all, the question as to what exactly is a conference call service? Well a conference call service is basically a company that does all of the legwork involved in a conference call for you. All you have to do is decide what time you want the conference call and who you are inviting. They handle everything else. A lot of conference call services for business provide walk through and instructional information on how to get the most out of their service. Answering questions like how will callers get connected? What in session option are available? How to go about using those options? The list goes on.
What a conference call service does is simply make all of this available to you as easy as possible. Some conference call services for business offer the option to use advanced services. Services like audio and video web conferencing are becoming more popular and are becoming more affordable. As far as the service options available, again it depends on the type of business you are involved in. Will you be able to communicate effectively using only audio conferencing?
Is it possible you will have some visual information that needs to be shared? If so consider web conferencing. Web conferencing allows for the sharing of visual information while on a conference call. Do you have clients that would like to meet you but travel would be too costly? Consider using the video services. No matter what you choose conference calling services for business providers should make choosing a very simple process.
10 Reasons to Switch to an IP PBX
What is an IP PBX?
An IP PBX is a complete telephony system that provides telephone calls over IP data networks. All conversations are sent as data packets over the network. The technology includes advanced communication features but also provides a significant dose of worry-free scalability and robustness that all enterprises seek.
Enterprises don’t need to disrupt their current external communication infrastructure: An IP PBX is able to connect to traditional PSTN lines via a VOIP gateway - so an enterprise can keep its regular telephone numbers.
How it works
An IP PBX system consists of one or more SIP phones, an IP PBX server and optionally a VOIP Gateway to connect to existing PSTN lines. The IP PBX server functions in a similar manner to a proxy server: SIP clients, being either soft phones or hardware-based phones, register with the IP PBX server, and when they wish to make a call they ask the IP PBX to establish the connection. The IP PBX has a directory of all phones/users and their corresponding SIP address and thus is able to connect an internal call or route an external call via either a VOIP gateway or a VOIP service provider. More information and commonly asked questioned about IP PBXs can be found on IP PBX, SIP & VOIP FAQ - http://www.3cx.com/PBX/IP-PBX-faq.html
The top 10 Reasons
Reason #1: Much easier to install & configure than a proprietary phone system:
An IP PBX runs as software on a computer and can leverage the advanced processing power of the computer and user interface as well as Windows’ features. Anyone proficient in networking and computers can install and maintain an IP PBX. By contrast a proprietary phone system often requires an installer trained on that particular proprietary system!
Reason #2: Easier to manage because of web/GUI based configuration interface:
An IP PBX can be managed via a web-based configuration interface or a GUI, allowing you to easily maintain and fine tune your phone system. Proprietary phone systems have difficult-to-use interfaces which are often designed to be used only by the phone technicians.
Reason #3: Significant cost savings using VOIP providers:
With an IP PBX you can easily use a VOIP service provider for long distance and international calls. The monthly savings are significant. If you have branch offices, you can easily connect phone systems between branches and make free phone calls.
Reason #4 Eliminate phone wiring!
An IP PBX allows you to connect hardware phones directly to a standard computer network port (which it can share with the adjacent computer). Software phones can be installed directly onto the PC. You can now eliminate the phone wiring and make adding or moving of extensions much easier. In new offices you can completely eliminate the extra ports to be used by the phone!
Reason #5: Eliminate vendor lock in!
IP PBXs are based on the open SIP standard. You can now mix and match any SIP hardware or software phone with any SIP-based IP PBX, PSTN Gateway or VOIP provider. In contrast, a proprietary phone system often requires proprietary phones to use advanced features, and proprietary extension modules to add features.
Reason #6: Scalable
Proprietary systems are easy to outgrow: Adding more phone lines or extensions often requires expensive hardware modules. In some cases you need an entirely new phone system. Not so with an IP PBX: a standard computer can easily handle a large number of phone lines and extensions – just add more phones to your network to expand!
Reason #7: Better customer service & productivity:
With an IP PBX you can deliver better customer service and better productivity: Since the telephone system is now computer-based you can integrate phone functions with business applications. For example: Bring up the customer record of the caller automatically when you receive his/her call, dramatically improving customer service and cutting cost by reducing time spent on each caller. Outbound calls can be placed directly from Outlook, removing the need for the user to type in the phone number.
Reason #8: Twice the phone system features for half the price!
Since an VoIP PBX is software-based, itis easier for developers to add and improve feature sets. Most VOIP phone systems come with a rich feature set, including auto attendant, voice mail, ring groups, advanced reporting and more. These options are often very expensive in proprietary systems.
Reason #9 Allow hot desking & roaming
Hot desking – the process of being able to easily move offices/desks based on the task at hand, has become very popular. Unfortunately traditional PBXs require extensions to be re-patched to the new location. With an IP PBX the user simply takes his phone to his new desk – No patching required!
Users can roam too – if an employee has to work from home, he/she can simply fire up their SIP software phone and are able to answer calls to their extension, just as they would in the office. Calls can be diverted anywhere in the world because of the SIP protocol characteristics!
Reason #10 Better phone usability: SIP phones are easier to use
Employees often struggle using advanced phone features: Setting up a conference, transferring a call – On an old PBX it all requires instruction.
Not so with an IP PBX – all features are easily performed from a user friendly Windows GUI. In addition, users get a better overview of the status of other extensions and of inbound lines and call queues via the IP PBX Windows client. Proprietary systems often require expensive ‘system’ phones to get an idea what is going on on your phone system. Even then, status information is cryptic at best.
Conclusion
An investment in a software based IP PBX makes a lot of sense, not only for new companies buying a phone system, but also for companies who already have a PBX. An IP PBX delivers such significant savings in management, maintenance, and on going call costs, that any company should be looking at upgrading to an IP PBX.
How To Choose A Long Distance Calling Solution
In the present telecommunication industry there are many ways of making long distance and international calls . So, which one to choose?
To answer your question first you will need to choose one of the below situations.
1. I am a residential customer making long distance or international calls on a regular basis and don’t have broadband internet.
2. I am a residential customer making long distance or international calls on a regular basis and I have broadband internet.
3. I am a business customer and want to make international or long distance calls from my cell phone.
4. I am just visiting (and won’t keep this phone number for a long time)
Once you decide which point describes your situation the best, the rest is easy to decide.
1. In this case you will most likely want to go with a Long Distance Plan which will simply replace your existing local company’s long distance access (or connect a new long distance access if you don’t yet have any) for a more cheaper and suitable calling rate. Most local phone companies charge higher rates for long distance calls. So choosing a dedicated Long Distance Service will help you save on all of your long distance and international calls. To do so, you simply need to sign up with a Long Distance Carrier, then call your local phone company and notify them that you are switching your Long Distance Carrier. The switching process usually takes about five business days after that you may simply pick up the phone, dial 011 and follow with your long distance or international number. There are no access numbers, no pins, nothing…. This is the most convenient way to dial if you are a residential customer or a business customer who don’t have any broadband internet connection.
2. In this case if you have broadband internet, you can go for even bigger savings by connecting through a VoIP Provider. VoIP is the newest technology in internet telephony and stands for Voice over Internet Protocol. The process of connecting to a VoIP most of the time involves canceling your local phone because it becomes useless for you and will just waste money if you already have a VoIP. Typically what happens is you get a hardware called VoIP adapter which you connect to your broadband internet cable, and then you connect your phone to that hardware. Also, there are VoIP phones which you can directly connect to your broadband internet cable and you’re all set. There is a connection fee with this service because your VoIP Provider gives you the hardware which costs them money. Your VoIP Provider then designates a phone number for you which in most cases you can choose to have your area code. You simply get a full service phone (which most of the time contains even more features than your ordinary local phone company gives you), which is much cheaper to make long distance and international calls with. This is an ideal solution for residential customers or business costumers who regularly make international or long distance calls and have a broadband internet access. Most of VoIP Providers will give you unlimited long distance (domestic) minutes included in your plan. The Prices start as low as $10-20 per month for this service whereas an ordinary land line phone will cost $40-50 per month with fewer features and with no long distance minutes included.
3. In this case you might be interested in Dial Around Service. The Dial Around Service is a long distance calling plan which allows you to make calls without using any pins. This is also known as “No PIN Dialing”. Generally, this is a prepaid and rechargeable service and doesn’t have any maintenance or connection fees. So simply what you pay is what you get, and no additional minutes are deducted from your balance. The process of dialing is simple: you pickup your phone and dial an access number which your provider will give you, after that you usually are being notified about your remaining balance and being prompted to enter your destination number. There are no pins which makes the process more convenient. The account is being identified by your phone number. If you have caller id blocking enabled on your phone, than you will need to dial *82 to unblock it, so that the provider’s system can recognize your phone number. The good thing about this kind of service is that it doesn’t expire, it doesn’t have maintenance or connection fees, and you can use it anytime and anywhere from your cell phone. This is a really great solution for business people who are traveling frequently.
Call Philippines as Clear as the Pearl of the Orient Seas
Most Filipinos would love to hear from their relatives or friends from the US. Who won't? There's just so much to tell and burning the lines would be one helluvah understatement if you are to make an international call to the Philippines. This is because the Philippines is one of the most eventful places in the world right now. See the news to prove this.
Placing an international call could be a very wallet-pinching endeavor. But this should not always be the case. There are numerous ways to make a long distance call, especially if the destination of your call is the Pearl of the Orient, the Philippines.
Here is a rundown of suggestions on how to make that international call to the Philippines without shelling out much of your hard-earned dollars.
1. Be careful when buying calling cards.
Several prepaid phone cards have hidden charges. There could be a connection fee that could be almost tantamount to getting ripped off especially when the card buyer makes a call and either the call is routed to a voice mailbox or to an answering machine. Connection fee deduction is automatically done even when the caller did not say anything yet.
Other phone card hidden charges include service fee, maintenance fee, access number and long talking fee. The expiration date should also be checked.
2. Know what type of phone will receive your call.
It won't be advisable to make a long distance call to any mobile device. This is because most of overseas carriers implement the "calling party pays" system. The tariff rate of an international wireless phone could be a lot higher compared to a call made to a land-line in the same country.
3. Say no to a telephone operator.
When you choose to be assisted by a telephone operator when placing an international call, you choose to pay considerably more. Whenever possible opt to use a dial-around service or dial direct.
4. Sign up to a prepaid long distance plan.
Various carriers offer this kind of service to those who frequently place long distance calls. Opt for those with flexible programs. These plans work like phone cards but do not have fees and charges associated with prepaid phone cards. They usually have very low domestic and international rates 24/7 and call quality is usually excellent. One more thing about these prepaid plans is the convenience of being able to use them when placing calls from any telephones be it cell phones or public phones.
5. Calling during non-business days or off-peak time will help you save.
Make the most out of these privileges by checking on what your carrier offers. Just make sure that it won't be too much of an inconvenience to the recipient of your call.
6. Bad connections should be noted.
Bad connections happen and the Philippines is not an exception to this nuisance. When this happens, take note of the time and the number you called. Prepaid calling cards rarely gives you credit for bad connections. But if you made an international call using a standard long distance carrier, or prepaid long distance plans, better check if you could be given credit for that call. They always do.
It would help if you print this info to be always reminded of the Do's and Don't's when it comes to making an international call.
With these simple tips, you don't have to worry when your phone bill arrives.
Finally, here's the step-by-step process in calling the Philippines.
a. Dial 011, which is the international code
b. Then, key in the Philippines' country code, which is 63.
c. Now, dial the city area code where your your wife and kids are.
Here are the major cities in the Philippines with their respective city area codes:
Angeles Luzon - 455
Bacolod - 34
Baguio - 74
Cebu - 32
Clarkfield, Pampanga - 45
Dagupan, Pangasinan - 75
Davao - 82
Iloilo - 33
Laguna Province - 49562
Lucena, Luzon - 42
Makati, Luzon - 2
Manila - 2
Ozamiz City - 88
San Fernando, Pampanga - 45
San Fernando, La Union - 72
San Pablo - 49
Subic, Zambales - 47
Tarlac - 452
Tarlac Province - 45
Zamboanga - 62
d. Finally, dial the remaining digits.
Also, don't forget to greet your Filipino friend using her native lingo. "Kumusta", pronounced as "cooh-moose-TAH" surely will never fail to make her smile.