Conference Calling Rates
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.
Article source: http://phonecard.terapad.com/index.cfm?fa=contentNews.newsDetails&newsID=45485&from=list
Picture source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sheilascarborough/3317397310/
Calling Cards Buyer's Guide
Calling (phone) cards is a telecommunication credit card used by consumers to pay for telephone and cellular services. Calling cards purpose a prepaid credit system through the use of prepaid calling cards. Prepaid phone cards allow you to pay for your long-distance calling in advance. The cards can be purchased from markets, vending machines or on Internet shops and allow you to make international or domestic calls from practically any telephone.
Whereas the calling cards are more comfortable for travelers, some people find prepaid cards a convenient means to handle most or all of their calling needs. Pre paid calling cards appropriate to all but most useful for travelers: immigrant, commercial traveller, tourists, friends, relatives or loved spending a much time on the phone. Most of pay phones have a very high calling costs and using calling cards give you lowest rates especially for international calls.
Now there are hundreds of companies with thousands of affiliates and partner offer phone cards from different service providers and carriers such as ACC, AT&T, CLL, ECC, IDT, IDTE, NTC, NW-IP and etc. We hope our buying guide help you select the right calling cards. Choosing the best phone card for you calling needs is a difficult task. The way what you propose use a card help define character of calling cards will be good for you. We consider main features of calling cards: Fees, Expiration Dates, Calling Rates, Additional Service.
1 Fees
Calling cards may have additional fees - connection fee applies to calling card's balance every time when the connection is established. The charge varies depending on country a person is calling to. Connection fee reduces the advertised number of minutes on the phone card, maintenance fee - this fee is deducted from phone card balance if there is still enough balance.
It is not charged on your credit card. Calling card provider starts charging a maintenance fee within 24 hours after the first phone call is finished, service, Payphone Fee additional charge per call if if call is made using a payphone, normally collected for the owner of the payphone. If you place many short calls will want to look for a card that has no connection fees, while those who make duration calls will want to look for lower rates and possibly take on a connection fee. Also phone card that has a weekly service fee should be evade if you want to keep your card and use it long period of time.
2 Expiration Dates
Calling cards expiration period, which starts after the first phone call was made. Make sure that the expiration date of you telephone cards is enough for you to be able to use your entire funds.
3 Calling Rates
Generally the first thing people see is a calling rates to need destination. This number may greatly change from card to card. Do not make a decision based only on this feature. For example - one calling card offers you 500 minutes, another - 200. The first card expired in a 1 month, the second - 2 month. So, if you talk near 25 minutes per week (or 25 x 4 = 100 minutes per month), which phone card is better for you? The card that provide you "only" 200 minutes. Always compare calling rates offered variety calling cards. You may use calling rates calculator on our site.
4 Additional Service
Some calling cards offer additional features such as Web or SMS callback, Prepaid conference calls, SMS refill service, Toll-free number, Permanent PIN, Speed dial and much more (for example Continental calling card). It's features expand use a calling cards but consider you need it? Why cost if you just talk with you friends or family members. Choose phone cards company not just selling calling cards but and providing Customer Service with toll free numbers and work 24 hours a day 7 days a week.
Source: http://ezinearticles.com/?Calling-Cards-Buyers-Guide&id=357820
Picture source:
The Many Uses of Phone Cards
One of the best ways to keep in touch with your family, kids and employees without having to pay for a sky rocketing phone bill when the month ends is to have a phone card. Most people who have been using phone cards found out that using it for long distance calling really make sense. Phone cards have various practical uses such as:
For your kids or Employees to Stay in Touch with You
If you’re the type of person that gives phone cards so that your kids or your employees can keep in touch with you, be very sure that the cards have been purchased from a trusted company. You’ll find some phone cards undesirable due to their busy signals. This means that, when you call in, you will hear a recording that says the circuits are all busy at the moment and you should try to call up again later. This kind of phone cards can’t do any good especially if the call is very important or urgent and you are unable to contact someone.
You want to know how your child is doing from time to time, but you are worried that he/she is unable to memorize the number of the phone card? This trouble is easy to work out. You can retain their phone cards and just recharge it every now and then so that your child can call you up anytime. If you are recharging the same phone card consistently, there is no need for your kid to memorize more than one contact number. Should you plan to do this, just see to it that the phone card has been purchased from a highly-reputable phone card company that will be around over time so that you can keep on recharging the card.
For travel
Among the most common uses of phone cards is for traveling. This will save you from paying big bucks on hotel incidentals particularly if there’s a need for you to call in your office or home or any person that you want to talk to while you are on travel. Phone cards are extremely used for journey overseas.
For students
Students, especially those who are taking their college studies in another country or state, usually use phone cards to call home from their dormitories. Phone cards are advisable in case you do not have a long-distance provider. Some people choose phone cards than long distance service providers for the reason that these cards help minimize the use of phone for the month.
For home use
If you find it hard to get an excellent long distance phone service at a reasonable cost, then phone cards can surely help you out. These cards can be the answer to your needs for various reasons. With phone cards, you pay as you go so there will never be a chance that you have to pay for a gigantic long distance phone bill when the month ends. As long as you charge your long distance calls on your phone card, expect that you only have to pay for basic service. However, you have to go through the hassle of dialing first the phone card number before you can make a call.
Another downside of using phone cards is that the calls made using these cards usually give uncommon caller identification number to the call recipient. So if you are calling a person who simply does not answer the phone if they don’t know the caller, make sure you inform them that you are using phone cards so your home number will not appear on their caller ID.
Source: http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Many-Uses-of-Phone-Cards&id=224407
Refer Friends to Get More Talk Minutes
Some calling card companies and service providers have schemes for their customers wherein every time an existing customer gives a reference of a friend and suppose the referral materializes in a sale of the card, then the customer would win an incentive of extra talking minutes with in the same charge that he has paid. This scheme is offered by the company as a means to augment its sales without the cost of initial investment and the incentive is meant as a reward to encourage the existing clientele to take the scheme seriously and contribute significantly towards its success.
While referring friends to the calling card companies, one must keep in mind the following guidelines:
- One must refer only those friends who are genuinely interested in phone cards because they need them to make calls. References of the friends who do not belong to this category should be avoided because it would only lead to the individual getting annoyed and the friendship being broken.
- Prior to making a referral, one must be aware of the procedure in detail so as not to make an error. This information can also be sought from the customer service before commencing the referral process.
- It is equally important to follow up with friends who have been referred so as to claim the reward from the company.
The referral process should be carried out with a positive outlook as a means to help someone in need and at the same time benefiting personally from the process. The number of talking minutes earned depends from one company to another and this process is a good way of earning extra time without any additional charges.
Making International Calls to Spain?
The Kingdom of Spain is a developed country in The Iberian Peninsula in Europe and is the place in which the global language of Spanish originated. Its capital city being Madrid, Spain is one of the noteworthy members of the United Nations, the European Union, NATO, OECD and WTO.
The popularity of Spain is evident from the fact that today Spanish is one of the most popular languages in the world which is spoken by a large majority of people. Since an individual might have a number of reasons to make an international to Spain like football, festivals, cuisine and history, the international prepaid phone cards are among the best available options. This is because these phone cards enable the caller to speak at length and gather all the information without being bothered about the mounting charges which are normally associated with international calls. Placing a call by using a prepaid phone card would be an affordable, reasonable as well as a convenient way to keep in touch with someone in Spain without the burden of phenomenal monthly bills.
Apart from being able to make international calls at low rates, phone cards also have additional advantages like a round-the-clock customer service and the facility of recharging or refilling the card from anywhere and at any time. An important point to remember would be that the country code for Spain is 34 and as an independent nation it is one hour ahead of the Greenwich Mean Time and six hours and nine hours ahead of the time on the east and the west coast of America.
International Phone Cards For Long Distance Calls
Long Distance Calls and International Phone Cards always go hand in hand. Any one who makes frequent long distance calls always first thinks of an International Phone Card. This is because; by purchasing these cards it is possible to keep a tab on the phone bills. Of course, the caller has to make a proper selection of the right tariff plan so that he can derive maximum benefits for its purchase.
There are some reasons why people prefer Phone Card. First and foremost reason being that long distance calls would be cheaper when made through a prepaid plan. This is because prepaid tariff plans do not attract any hidden cost like service charges, connectivity charges etc. Further, per minute call rate is considerably cheaper.
Secondly, purchasing these cards is quite easy. Just walk in to any retail shop like grocery shop, pub, petrol bunk, malls etc. There are no agreements to be entered into with the service provider and no payment of minimum deposit etc.
Thirdly, the caller has a wide range of calling companies each with unique call rate. So, the caller has a wide range of call rate so that he can make the best choice. Just browse and select the company suitable to you.
The next reason being when an international call is made through a Calling card, the caller can directly dial the required number in the other country. In other words, there is no need to dial the PIN number, country code, area code etc. So, this saves lot of time and there are no chances of wrong dialing etc. So, the connectivity is almost instantaneous.
Cut Back on Your Phone Bill – Use Phone Cards
The trend of using prepaid phone cards to make phone calls has spread among the people so quickly that it can only be compared to a wild fire which blazes through a forest. Much of the popularity of the phone cards stems from the ease and convenience of use and today the term phone card is used as a synonym for long distance calls and international calls made frequently at reasonable rates. Due to these factors, there are very few people who have remained immune from the use of phone cards and it is a rare situation in which one might come across a person who has not heard of phone cards and their various advantages.
There are a number of reasons as to why a person should give up using the traditional method of calling and switch to phone cards instead and these reasons are listed as follows:
- The traditional methods of making calls used to result in long bills thus proving to be extremely expensive and being a drain on the financial resources. Comparatively by using phone cards, one can downsize the phone expenditure by half and some phone card service providers even claim to cut down on the previously incurred expenditure by almost 80%.
- The increase in the use of phone cards can be attributed to the world having been converted into a global village which implies that people travel across the world much more than they used to. Such people like to keep in touch with their family members or their company head quarters on a regular basis and if this is done through a standard phone service it would surely cost more than a handful. Therefore, the best method to keep in touch is to use phone cards because not only does one end up saving but can also talk for a longer period of time at a low rate.
- Since the standard phone service requires instant payment of bills especially in case of pay phones one needs to have cash at hand before making such calls and there is no facility of a discount being given to the caller. On the contrary, using a phone card does not entail instant payment of the bills and therefore one need not carry a bundle of cash around to make a call.
- Phone cards facilitate round-the-clock communication which comes in handy for people who have immigrated to other countries and like to keep in touch with their loved ones back home. Around a decade ago this would have been impossible because of the phenomenal costs involved but now is almost commonplace due to the fact that phone bills are manageable with the use of phone cards.
- Phone cards result in cutting back of the phone bills in a big way if the card has been bought from a reputed service provider because the purchase of such a card involves payment at one time only and there are no hidden costs or charges other than those mentioned on the bill. Thus the cutting down of expenditure begins at the first level itself. One can have a good experience with phone cards because they not only enable a person to communicate freely but also at reasonable rates.
Are Phone Cards Really a Good Choice?
Just assess the savings on your telephone bill and the utility and then decide whether the Phone Cards are the best choice.
Long distance calls can be made just few cents; like 15 – 20 cents per minute to various countries across the world. These are prepaid tariff plans which normally do not have any hidden costs. There are innumerable calling companies with variety of tariff plans to suit various sections of the callers. The companies have helpline which is available 24/7. This ensures that you are connected to the required number instantaneously.
Buying a Phone Card is just simple. There is no paper work. There is no need for an agreement with the service provider. There is no minimum deposit. Just walk into any grocery shop, bar, pub, petrol bunk or any retail outlet which you visit. Pay and then get the card. If you are at home, get it online. Pay through your credit or debit card. Utilize the card within the time specified in the card. In case there is balance available, get it transferred to the new card which you may purchase from the company. If the credit balance in the card is fully utilized, just buy additional calling time and the card is available for use.
The caller is assigned a PIN number. So, the card is secured and cannot be misused by one. It fits into wallet easily, so it can be carried for use from your home, office, public telephone booths, air port, hospital, hotels etc.
There is no alternative long distance calling mechanism which is cheaper than Phone Cards. Undoubtedly, Phone Card is the best choice.
Call Nigeria at lower rates
Nigeria is one of the most called destinations from all over the world. Being the most called country; many long distance calling companies have opened the flood gate of most attractive tariff plans. In fact calling a mobile phone in Nigeria through long distance call costs just 6.3 cents per minute.
In addition to calling directly through mobile or land line, there are many Nigerian Calling Cards which are considerably cost effective. Long distance call is so easy that the caller can directly dial the number required in that country. There is no need for dialing the PIN number and the area code, country code etc. Therefore, by this method, dialing would be quite fast.
In so far as cost is concerned, calling a mobile phone in Nigeria is comparatively cheaper than calling a landline. In addition to calling cards, the number can be contacted through VOIP. As in other cases, making a long distance call is expensive. Therefore, people prefer to use the said Calling Card which is considerably cheaper. These cards do not have any hidden cost and they are easily available over the counter. They can be procured online as well.
When a traveler visits that country, it would be most appropriate for him to purchase a calling card in Nigeria which would be considerably cheaper than using his calling card which was purchased outside. By purchasing calling card in Nigeria, the caller can contact the persons in in that country at domestic tariff and this would result in considerable savings. Those who are frequent callers are offered some gifts or special discount when they purchase the Nigerian Calling Card.
Choosing a VoIP Equipment Vendor
Just as data networks require different equipment and protocols to meet the specific business and technical requirements of an organization, individual VoIP solutions will also differ based on specific needs. Although the variety of VoIP protocols has caused some confusion in the marketplace, it is precisely this protocol flexibility that makes VoIP-based systems so much more useful than legacy voice systems. When assessing VoIP equipment vendors, companies should consider:
• Ability to support different network transport service models, such as Traffic Engineered MPLS. Care must be taken in addressing VoIP’s extremely rigid QoS and reliability requirements. Choosing an experienced vendor with expertise in deploying large, complex multiservice IP networks – and with router products that operate above the transport layer – will pay significant dividends.
• Commitment to supporting open standards within their products. Any vendor should be actively developing voice strategies that consider interoperability with all VoIP protocols. Without this commitment, VoIP systems are in danger of becoming as proprietary as legacy voice systems.
• Ability to support multiple protocols. Support for multiple protocols end-to-end creates a VoIP solution that is better positioned to handle future system migrations. Companies
should be able to add products that support a different protocol without requiring wholesale infrastructure redeployments or significant network upgrades.Just as data networks require different equipment and protocols to meet the specific business and technical requirements of an organization, individual VoIP solutions will also differ based on specific needs. Although the variety of VoIP protocols has caused some confusion in the marketplace, it is precisely this protocol flexibility that makes VoIP-based systems so much more useful than legacy voice systems. When assessing VoIP equipment vendors, companies should consider:
• Ability to support different network transport service models, such as Traffic Engineered MPLS. Care must be taken in addressing VoIP’s extremely rigid QoS and reliability requirements. Choosing an experienced vendor with expertise in deploying large, complex multiservice IP networks – and with router products that operate above the transport layer – will pay significant dividends.
• Commitment to supporting open standards within their products. Any vendor should be actively developing voice strategies that consider interoperability with all VoIP protocols. Without this commitment, VoIP systems are in danger of becoming as proprietary as legacy voice systems.
• Ability to support multiple protocols. Support for multiple protocols end-to-end creates a VoIP solution that is better positioned to handle future system migrations. Companies should be able to add products that support a different protocol without requiring wholesale infrastructure redeployments or significant network upgrades.
Source: Juniper Networks, Inc. White Paper
