International Calls

As popular as they’ve become lately, I doubt many people know where calling cards come from and what ‘hides’ behind the low rates.

The technology used for calling cards is called VOIP, and it stands for Voice over Internet Protocol. To put it in simple terms, it’s a bit similar to how Skype works, except you can be applied to making phone-to-phone calls.

Ok… so now there are some guys, called calling card providers, who talk to these other guys, called carriers. The carriers are people who operate the telecommunications system. Basically, they own a physical network. The calling card provides need the carriers to ‘carry’ their calls from one destination to the other. But since the calling card companies bet on getting a lot of clients, they buy traffic in the carriers’ networks in very large quantities, and so they get small prices.

So far, so good. Calling cards are now available to you, through calling cards providers. You can go right ahead and buy them. But what happens next? If you have any issue with your calling card, you can always call/e-mail the provider’s customer support – if they have one. You should check if they have customer support before you make a purchase, and if they don’t, you might want to avoid doing business with them. Personally, I don’t trust companies that lack a customer support department.

Ok… so now that you have the basics of who makes your calling cards work, go right back to enjoying your low rate international calls!

Everyone has different needs including ways of remaining connected worldwide. International phone cards specifically offer long distance services to those clients that need to call various countries. The use of international calling cards is economical, practical and most-efficient without the hassle of billing. It is suitable to business travelers. Different international calling cards offer different features for calling. They are available in prepaid and post-paid categories. The rates of post-paid are higher as compared to prepaid but still offer low calling rates as compared to the regular call rates from mobile phones or phone booths. They are available in the market from various companies as well as through online bookings. Post-paid and prepaid share the same features of dialing international numbers. To make international calls, first the access number should be dialed corresponding to the country from where the call is being made. To continue the dialing process, dial the 10-Digit personal identification number (PIN) followed by the designated number. The only difference between post-paid and prepaid calling cards is that former are paid in advance before making calls and post-paid cards are paid after making calls. The details of the post-paid card is sent via e-mail or postal address whereas prepaid provides no such written details. Calls are restricted to a select city, country or continent. For example, Australian calling cards can make calls only in that region. Asian calling cards can be used for Asian contacts. International phone calling cards allow calls to be made in many countries.

Source: Ezine Articles