Long distance phone calls used to be expensive. Remember the time when you spend up to ten cents or more a minute? Initially, the competition was not fierce and phone companies were making lots of profit from long distance calls. Soon, more competitors flood the marketing, forcing the price to reduce. Phone companies began to come out with unique packages and offers to get you to become their customer. Things have changed a lot since then, and many long distance call companies have folded. This is because the world of long distance calls has changed. It is now a service that you can get for free or very low cost.

The cheapest option available for long distance call nowadays is through internet. Using free services like Yahoo messenger, MSN messenger or Skype, you can now call your friends in any country as long as they download the free application too. The downside of such service of course is the need to have a computer and sometimes, the quality of the voice is not very good.

If you prefer to speak through the traditional telephone way, companies like Vonage and Time Warner Cable offer digital phone that comes into your home via your cable Internet connection. You can use your existing phone and keep your phone number. This type of service is cheap. Domestic calls are free. International calls are charged at a very reasonable price. For example, Time Warner cable offers long distance phone calls from the United States to Australia for ten cents a minute.

Another option available is monthly subscription. For example, Verizon offers unlimited long distance phone calls for just $20 a month. For those who make regular long distance call, this is definitely a real bargain. Such package offer is also good for those who do not have cable internet in their area.

One popular option that many people like to use is buying a long distance calling card. For $10, you can make hours of long distance call, depending on which country you call to. When buying a calling card, pay special attention to the initial charge per call. Some cards may advertise that you can make an hour long call for just 60 cents. But if you make several short calls, there may be a one time charge and these charges can easily build up and deplete the card value. If using a calling card, the idea is to make less calls but you can speak as long as you like.

If you have a cell phone that come with free nights and weekends call, you can take advantage of your contracts that give you free long distance phone calls during these special hours.

In these days of information overload I prefer to keep it quick and brief in taking a simplistic look at what you need to know when purchasing a prepaid phone card.

The three basic factors to consider when purchasing a prepaid phone card are:

1. The total cost of using the card
2. Features offered by the card
3. Reputation for the company selling the card

1. Let’s break these three factors down quickly. The total cost of using the card includes the rate per minute for domestic or international calling, and any additional fees or surcharges for using the card. Generally speaking a lower rate per minute typically increases the chances of a hidden surcharge. If the rate per minute seems too good to be true it probably is. However, rates per minute for making International calls can be substantially lower when using a prepaid phone card. Calling card marketing plans are very focused, so shop around and find the best rate plan for your calling needs. Look for hidden surcharges like connection fees, 3 minute rounding, and monthly maintenance fees that all add to the total cost of using the card.

2. Some calling cards today offer great features that make them very convenient to use. They include Pin-less dialing, auto recharge, and speed dial to name a few. Pin-less dialing allows you to register your PIN, when you call back for future calls the system recognizes your phone number or ANI in the phone world, which allows you to make calls without entering your PIN number. Auto recharge allows you to set up a pre determined recharge on your card. I.E. at 2.00 recharge my card back to $20.00 this way a call is never interrupted at an inconvenient time. Speed dial allows you to register frequently called numbers for quick convenient dialing.

3. There are many options today in buying prepaid calling cards. With choice comes risk. Although I am somewhat biased as a Product Manager for a major Telecommunications company I think the reputation of the company you buy from is important. Many companies come and go in this business. Shop the major Telecoms as your basis for determining what is a good deal. Then ask yourself is it worth the risk for this rate? Will this company be in business next week? We see many companies offering cards below our cost, and we sell them the time on our lines for the long distance?? Generally speaking the major retailers that sell cards use the major Telecommunications companies as the backbone for the long distance time on the card. Shop around and find the best plan for you and don’t forget the reputation for the company. MCI offers great low rates on phone cards without hidden fees. We offer features that make our cards easy to use. Look for our cards at major retailers near you.

If you have done any research into the confusing world of dial long distance telephone rates, you have discovered that conventional long distance is expensive compared to almost any of the alternatives. This is especially true when you factor in, the extra fees and taxes added on by governments.

Conventional phone companies rely on people being either uninformed or unmotivated to check out the alternatives. Usually they bundle dialing long distance with local services so you are never quite sure how much your long distance service is costing.

For instance, many consumers sign up for a local plan that includes unlimited long distance calling. They usually pay between $50 and $70 for this package. But they could get the same level of service for much less money by staying with a $20-$30/month local package and using a dial around plan that charges only 1.9 cents/minute for calls to the USA and Canada.

Phone Cards – a solution with serious limitations

One alternative to conventional dial long distance service is to purchase a prepaid phone card. These cards are often purchased online. After signing up you are sent an account number and PIN which allow you to access the long distance system.

Having a phone card lets you place long distance calls by calling a toll free access number, entering your account information, and then dialing the number you want to call.

Some of the features and shortcomings of phone cards are as follows:

• Phone cards are often country or region specific. It is difficult to find one card that gives you good rates to multiple countries or regions.
• They are good for short term situations like traveling, or for occasional use.
• Calling can be cumbersome unless you can find a “PIN-less” phone card.
• Charges can be higher than expected because of hidden fees and taxes.
• Calls can be more expensive because of longer call duration rounding intervals. A 6.5 minute call will be billed as 7 minutes if a 1-minute rounding interval is used. But it will be billed as 9 minutes if they use a 3-minute interval.
• – Phone cards often have a higher minimum call duration. Some cards charge a minimum of one rounding interval for every call, even if it is not completed.

Dial Around Plans – a much better alternative

A much better alternative is what is called a dial around plan. They are called “dial around plans” because you use a local number or toll free number to bypass or “dial around” the conventional phone company. You call the special access number, and once you get a dial tone you dial the area code and number of the party you are calling.

Here are some of the features you can get with a quality dial around plan:

• With good plans you only pay for minutes used. There are no fees, taxes, or hidden charges.
• No monthly minimum charge or account fee.
• Very low long distance rates, including low domestic rates to the USA and Canada.
• Savings are substantial – from 50% to 90% less than conventional long distance.
• Quality plans do not require a caller to enter an account number or PIN when calling from registered numbers. You can register as many as 10 phone numbers with your account.
• Connection quality is comparable to conventional long distance.
• Some plans (higher quality ones) give you free online account management including real time call history. This lets you see the details of every call — the number called, time and date of the call, duration, and cost.
• Dial around plans can be used at home, with a cell phone, or while traveling in the USA.

Summary – Dial Around Plans are much more versatile

While it is true that phone cards provide convenience when traveling, dial around plans offer a better and cheaper long distance alternative for anyone who uses long distance service on a regular basis.

If you are a business professional, using iPhone for more than simply keeping in touch with your friends and family, in many cases your iPhone is your link to the business world. Whether you are keeping track of your stocks, checking your e-mail or conducting conference calls while on your way to a business meeting, your iPhone is literally your key to keeping connected with your professional life. However, if you are like most business professionals, than you travel the globe in order to keep your business active and profitable one of issues is using iPhone overseas. There are many concerns that people have with cell phones are whether or not you will be able to use your phone when you are in a different country, especially if you are visiting for an extended period of time.

Like most cell phones, the iPhone works with a particular cell phone carrier. Many business professionals want the security in knowing that they can use  iPhone overseas and services will not be disrupted simply because they travel from country to country. Since the iPhone is serviced by AT&T/Cingular, you will not have to worry about loosing service, or features, because the iPhone uses the GSM system. GSM is an acronym that stands for Global System for Mobile communication, thus allowing you to use your cell phone in many different countries. Actually, there are over one hundred countries around the world that use GSM, thus allowing you to keep using your iPhone without any hindrance to cell service.

Many business travelers go to Europe and Asia, and since their iPhone uses GSM, they are able to have excellent service throughout both of these locations. However, there are some precautions that you will want to take before you leave the country with your iPhone. If you have ever traveled throughout the world and used your cell phone, you were probably surprised by extremely high charges for phone and data use.

This is because your number is an American telephone number, thus every call you make within another country is looked upon by your carrier as an international call. If you are overseas for quite some time, than it is easy to accumulate several hundred dollars worth of fees and roaming charges, this is why you will want to alter you calling plan if you travel overseas frequently.

Taking the right calling plan when using your iPhone overseas is an important decision who will safe you against big bills.

Calling cards are those cards you get handed to you on the street sometimes, or see advertised in corner shops. They’re a cheap way to call internationally – much cheaper than a normal landline phone – and they’re getting more and more popular as more people choose to live and work in foreign countries and make friends internationally.

So how do calling cards work? There are two main kinds of cards: free and paid-for. Free cards have a premium rate phone number on that you then call and enter your card number and PIN number. The premium rate phone call pays for a certain number of minutes for you to the country of your choice. Paid-for cards work similarly with the card number and the PIN, except that you buy them in a shop instead of paying with a premium rate call.

The reason your calls can be so much cheaper than usual when you use a calling card is that they are no longer being routed through the normal phone network. Instead, calling card companies are free to construct their own international telephone networks, often using advances in technology to their advantage.

Most modern calling cards actually route calls over the Internet, which means that an international call in fact becomes only a local call at each end, with the Internet acting as a ‘bridge’ between the two phone networks. This means that the calling card companies can make a lot of money for very little work, while also providing a much cheaper service than usual to the customer.

Following on an article by our resident expat expert, concerning making international call, we have decided to take a look at telephone calling cards.

If you are living as an expatriate, you will no doubt need to make international calls, probably to loved ones back home. Although the cost of telephone calls are coming down in price generally, it can still be a financial burden staying in touch with home.

There are many new ways in which you can start reducing the cost of your communication, just like using Skype. But the inconvenient is the fact that you need an computer plus internet connection. Another option you may not know about, is calling cards.

Traditionally, the telephone and the telephone system had been monopolised by the major telecommunication companies. Since governments, certainly that of the UK, decided to make the major players of the telecomms world open up their services to competitors, we have seen a significant decline in the cost for communications, especially telephone and Internet services. Just like other utility services which have been de-regulated, like gas and electricity, the supply is still governed and maintained by a service provider. In the case of UK telecommunications, this is British Telecom (BT).

Smaller companies now have the opportunity to buy bulk amounts of telephone calls from the governing provider, and in a lot of cases, can actually offer a cheaper price than the company whom they are buying from. Considering the size of a company like BT, the actual running costs are enormous. Compare this to the smaller company with smaller operating costs and increased efficiency.

By taking advantage of the competition in the telecommunications world, you can now benefit from making international calls from as little as 1p (1 cent) per minute, and in some cases, for FREE. There are some cards available that will bundle FREE minutes, depending on how many minutes you buy. Typically, cards come in various denominations, ranging from Pound10, up to Pound50.

It is relatively easy to make the calls and you can do so from your own home phone. Normally, you would dial the free phone number on the card (some cards may charge a connection fee) and then follow the instructions. Call quality is exactly the same as that of the normal phone service.

If you have been making international calls through your phone service provider, you may want to start shopping around to find a better deal. There are hundreds of choices and many can be ordered online with a debit or credit card.

A lot of people use a prepaid phone card because it is convenient, since it can be used anywhere including to make international call and, because you pay in advance, there are no bills. Prepaid phone cards are common among travelers, students, those who frequently call overseas, and those who haven’t selected their preferred long distance telephone company. To add, prepaid phone cards to make international call are conveniently available in convenient places such as newsstands, restaurants and stores.

How Do Prepaid Phone Cards Work

For consumers who do not have a home phone or need to make phone calls when away from home, prepaid phone cards can offer convenience and savings. While there is a wide array of cards to choose from, not all cards are created equally.

For starters, rates for overseas calls when make international call using prepaid phone cards can vary dramatically, based on the country you are calling or the manner that you make the call. Prepaid phone cards may offer rates that are much lower than a telephone firm’s standard international rates. A toll-free access phone number and a personal identification number (PIN) are generally inscribed on each phone card. To make a international call, dial the access number and then enter the PIN.

After making a call, an automated voice will prompt you to enter the phone number you are calling, and tell you how much time you have left on your card. It might also give you other options. Phone card firms keep track of how much of a card’s calling time is used by the card’s PIN number. Users can add time to some prepaid phone cards, and the added cost can usually be charged to a credit card. If you cannot add time to your card, you will need to purchase a new one when all the time has been used. Also, prepaid phone cards often have expiration dates, which could take effect after a week, month or a year.

Currently, prepaid phone cards are available just about everywhere in the US or online. These cards allow consumers to make international call when away from home or office. The cards can be used at just about any touch-tone telephone, as well on pay phones. The good thing about the cards is that they eliminate the need to carry coins for pay phones, allow persons without a local telephone service account to make calls, and generally cost less than traditional telephone company calls. Prepaid phone card calls are also affordable than most long distance calls made with coins from a local telephone company pay phone.

Today prepaid phone cards are produced by many providers, ranging from major telephone firms and credit card issuers to small and medium start-up businesses. The cards can be purchased in small denominations, ranging from $5 to $20, at public facilities such as airports, convenience stores and newsstands, gas stations, drug stores or even at post offices.

For only international call making purposes is better to check the card dedicated for international calls.

To make international call using prepaid phone cards is an excellent way to stay in touch with family and friends without ending up with an astronomical phone bill at the end of the month. But before you choose the phone card that seems to be the cheapest available, be sure you know all the details of how that particular phone card works.

Some phone card companies have a service charge for each call you make using the card. That means that you’ll lose several minutes each time you use the card – typically anywhere from four minutes to eight or even ten. If you have a phone card company touting their “three-cent a minute” rates, be sure of their service charges. If you’re also losing an additional ten minutes for every connection you make, the rates go up considerably.

One gimmick used by phone card companies is that they give you a price “per unit” instead of “per minute.” The significance is that there are different costs for different phone calls. You may pay only a penny or two per unit, but you may find that you’re being charged several units per minute. For example, if you pay two cents per unit and you’re phone call costs ten units per minute, you’re paying twenty cents a minute – significantly higher than the many reputable phone cards. Per unit cards may very well be a good deal, but find out how many units you can expect to pay for phone calls before you shell out the money for one of these cards.

Rechargeable phone cards are sometimes an excellent deal to make international call because the additional minutes you purchase are often cheaper than the original cost of the card. If you think about it, it’s fairly easy to see why. Instead of buying another pieces of plastic, you’re simply buying the service – less cost to the company.

Buying larger amounts is also typically a good way to get the best deal making international calls with a phone card. Companies typically offer a better price per minute if you purchase a card with two or more hours of calling time than for a card with only a half hour. Again, it’s a simple matter of marketing and you can see that the cost of producing the plastic card is a factor in that cost.

There’s no doubt that phone cards are a good way to stay in touch, especially in some situations. Taking time to choose a reliable company for your phone card purchase is an important step in being sure you make the best selection for your phone card company provider.