Brighter Outlook of Prepaid Calling Card Market

Prepaid calling cards exploded in telecommunication market because of the amount expediency that they give to consumers. Prepaid calling is all that is needed in making calls, no need to bring lots of coins just to use pay phone. And, no more prepaid bills since the prepaid calling card you’re using were already paid.

One more reason why prepaid phone cards has fast growing popularity is the capacity that can give the users in order for them to regulate their calling time to save money on a monthly basis. Around Europe and Asia, prepaid calling cards are already been exploding for quite some time now. Since a user can only make specific calls corresponding to the monetary value of the prepaid calling card. Unlike in phone bill, user has no idea and just be surprise will the amounts that calls have reached. There is actually no deposits required, no credit history needed, to attain a prepaid calling card, all you have to do is pay for the card and the user can already make some calls.

The market sales of prepaid calling cards augmented from $750 million to above $3.3 billion in just 5 years. So the revenues in prepaid calling card market over the US and Canada between 1995 and 2000 has rushed forward, the PELORUS Group reported. The domestic and international components of the market at once rose at this period of time.

On the other hand, between the year 2001 and 2002, in North America the prepaid cad market decreased. The domestic prepaid calling card decreased through this phase of time. Nevertheless, the international prepaid calling cards still benefit continually with the growing revenues. The sum of the prepaid calling card revenues jumped back to over $3.2 billion by the rising popularity of the international calling cards.

The rates of international calling have been decreased in past years to bigger parts of the population. The decreased rates were made not only because of the huge competition with prepaid calling card vendors but also with the rising competition to other form of telecommunication and VoIP. But as a result to this, there been rising level of acceptance among consumers. Thus, call times has developed in excess to off set the unfavorable effect of revenue fall down because of lower rates. Even though some other sectors of the market like the domestic calling have sloped down, the net effect is larger increase in revenues.

In 2008, the volume of the international market will be over double the equivalent volume of the domestic market. A report says that in domestic prepaid calling card revenues foreseen to decrease from 2003 until 2008. In contrast with international prepaid calling card revenue which are certainly project to increase by roughly 33%, jumping to an estimation sum of $2.75 billion in 2008.

Yet, the industry of prepaid calling cards in not impermeable to problems. There is even a variety of opinions in regards to rechargeable cards. The issue here is that the retailers do not concur with the idea to sell the rechargeable cards since the sale is a one of a lifetime deal.

The speediest rising method of merchandising is the vending machines. Since this method provides improved security measures the retailers will surely benefit from it. And in addition to that, this method doesn’t require employee participation and only requires lesser inventory.

Article source: http://phonecard.terapad.com/index.cfm?fa=contentNews.newsDetails&newsID=50410&from=list
Picture from: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jasmic/345126688/

International Calls to France Does Not Need to Be Costly

For the last 20 years, there has been a tremendous increase in the number of international calls made every year. This is attributed by the more and more foreign citizens who are traveling to foreign countries in search of education and job opportunities. To add on top of that is the increasing globalization of many businesses that has led many corporations setting up businesses in foreign countries.

International calls vary from company to company and with many rate plans and various per-minute billing options to choose from. When making cheap calls to France, a person has to consider a calling option that will be effective and economical according to his budget. This is done by planning the minute usage and making consideration of the past usage. When calling France, most providers of landline and mobile services offer monthly rate plan for international calls. Therefore a person is required to take time to evaluate the calling packages offered for international long distance calling.

However today, many more international calling options exist than there was a few years ago. This is because of the new technologies that have come up such as the cell phones and VoIP (Voice of Internet Protocol) which is used to make internet phone calls instead of traditional phone calls. But for those who don't know how to make the international calls, calling France can be quite expensive, therefore so many websites have come up to explain how to make such calls easily and cheaply.

Fixed line operators that are used in calling France include among others, Neuf Telecom, France telecom, Colt, Neuf Cegetel and Free while the operators in mobile telephony are Bouygues, SFR and Orange with Virgin Mobile being a virtual network operator. So as to make a cheap call to France, there are many services that connect a person to a phone system using his/her mobile or landline provider. This enables a person to call France for less by using a combination of cheap internet and telephone services. These services has two categories of services e.g. Credit talk and instant talk that offer cheap calls to international locations. One can purchase the credit by texting or by using the PayPal link and then call the local rate access. On the other hand if one is using the instant talk, there is no need to purchase credit.

Paid calling cards can also be a solution when one wants to make cheap calls to France. A person can also make International calls at a flat by-the -minute rate not considering the type of the calling line i.e. the landline or the mobile line. This can be achieved by buying a plastic card and making a dial on the toll free access number. Callers will ensure to get the best rates according to their needs because they have different alternatives to rely on.

Source: http://ezinearticles.com/?International-Calls-to-France-Does-Not-Need-to-Be-Costly&id=2491715
Picture source: http://www.parisinfrance.co.uk/i/frenchgirl.jpg

Promotional Phone Cards: A New Customer Acquisition Tool

A promotional phone card is a customized phone card, which includes a company's logo and messaging and free prepaid long distance minutes (an incentive) to be used by the recipient of the card (potential customer). Further, promotional phone cards are very affordable, so they can fit into even the smallest of marketing budgets. How can your company begin to use promotional phone cards as a customer acquisition tool?

A very simple and effective way that your company can immediately begin to use promotional phone cards to acquire more customers is by handing them out at tradeshows and conferences. There are, of course, many other great ways to use promotional phone cards to reach new potential customers.

For example, promotional phone cards can be used:

* as business cards for your outside sales personnel
* to get telecom customers to try a new phone card
* to build customer loyalty and retention
* for political campaigns
* to build website traffic
* to conduct surveys
* for sweepstakes
* … more
Because a promotional phone card is inherently a communication tool, you can also ask a potential customer to take a desired action "on your dollar." Ask people to learn more about your products and services by calling you—before or after visiting your physical storefront or website.

In addition to a promotional phone card's basic features, additional low-cost customization can be added to further push your brand and messaging throughout the customer acquisition process. For example, custom voice prompts and messaging can be used to greet your potential customers whenever they use your promotional phone card—to call you, family, or friends. In either case, you've successfully placed your brand and messaging directly in front of a potential customer in a very inexpensive and unique way.

In closing, promotional phone cards are an effective customer acquisition tool. Their low-cost and variety of uses will allow your company to extend its brand and messaging to new customers without significantly impacting the marketing budget.
Source:http://speedypin.com/phone/card/articles-promotional-phone-cards-a-new-customer-acquisition-tool.html

Euro VoIP Grows at Blistering Pace

After a slow initial start, European consumers have adopted IP-based voice service at a blistering pace, say researchers at TeleGeography Research. At year-end 2007, 25.3 million consumer voice-over-IP (VoIP) lines were in service in Europe, up from 15 million in 2006.

At the end of 2004, only 1.9 million VoIP lines were in service, equivalent to just over one percent of European households. By the end of 2007, VoIP subscribers accounted for 17 percent of households.

All those lines are of the “replacement for legacy voice lines” sort, and do not count client-based VoIP applications such as Skype.

The VoIP subscriber growth rate has slowed in recent quarters, but net subscriber growth remains very high, TeleGeography says. The number of quarterly subscriber additions grew from approximately one million subscribers per quarter throughout most of 2005 to two million subscribers in much of 2006, and averaged 2.6 million subscribers per quarter in 2007.

Revenues from VoIP services have grown at a comparable pace. Annual revenues from consumer VoIP services were €640 million in 2005, €1.6 billion in 2006, and €2.9 billion in 2007, TeleGeography says.

Given current growth patterns, VoIP revenues should top €3.9 billion in 2008, TeleGeography predicts.

Given their rapid growth in the past three years, European VoIP providers have emerged as a powerful force in the European fixed-line market, TeleGeography researchers note. VoIP subscribers accounted for 20 percent of aggregate (switched and VoIP) residential fixed-line subscribers and eight percent of revenues from residential fixed lines in 2007.

TeleGeography projects that VoIP subscribers in Western Europe will grow from 25.3 million at the end of 2007 to 37.6 million by the end of 2008, and will reach 58 million by 2012.

This growth would drive VoIP penetration from 17 percent of households at year-end 2007 to 37 percent of households by year-end 2012.

Growth rates vary fairly dramatically between countries in Europe, though. VoIP growth in France has been particularly spectacular: at year-end 2007, France had 10.8 million IP telephony subscribers, comparable to the total number of subscribers in Germany, the U.K., the Netherlands, and Italy combined.

France accounted for 43 percent of Europe’s 25.3 million IP telephony subscribers at the end of 2007.

That isn’t the case everywhere, though. Only three percent of Austrian households and less than two percent of Spanish households had VoIP service at the end of 2007.

TeleGeography distinguishes between four types of companies offering a replacement for switched telephone services in Europe: incumbent fixed-line operators, competitive digital subscriber line (DSL) service providers, cable TV operators, and network-independent service providers.

And as you might expect, incumbents have had to react to very-strong pressure from upstart competitors.

DSL providers are the largest category of VoIP service provider, accounting for 49 percent of European VoIP subscribers at year-end 2007. Competitive DSL providers account for the majority of consumer VoIP subscribers in France and Germany, the two largest European VoIP markets, and have strong footholds in many other markets.

In other markets, it is cable operators who have provided the challenge. In Switzerland and Belgium, for example, 88 percent and 87 percent of VoIP subscribers, respectively, obtain their service from cable companies.

In Norway and Denmark, network-independent service providers have a meaningful share of the VoIP market.

As a result, a growing number of European incumbent operators have responded to the challenge by introducing their own VoIP services, both in their home countries and in neighboring countries.

Among the most aggressive incumbents are France Telecom, BT, KPN, and Telecom Italia. By the end of 2007, France Telecom was the largest VoIP service provider in Europe, and incumbents accounted for 33 percent of all European VoIP subscribers.

Skype, additionally, is quite popular in Europe and claims more users than POTS-replacement VoIP services. But the revenues and traffic volumes generated by Skype’s subscribers are far more modest than is garnered by POTS-replacement services.

TeleGeography estimates that Skype’s European subscribers generated 19 billion minutes of total (PC-to-PC and PC-to-phone) traffic in 2007, compared to 89 billion minutes of traffic generated by handset-based service providers.

Since VoIP service providers charge far less for their service than traditional operators, they generate less revenue than their switched counterparts. Western European VoIP service providers generated approximately €2.9 billion in 2007, a sum that is projected to increase to €5.9 billion in 2012.

Compared to revenues from traditional, fixed-line phone services, VoIP revenues are quite small.

But the impact of VoIP services on the fixed network market will be out of proportion to VoIP revenues, due to the impact of VoIP services on voice service pricing in Europe. In other words, the big impact is on the overall price expectations that VoIP creates.

That is one reason U.S. telephone companies have been so cautious about introducing VoIP services on a mass scale, and so careful about pricing for VoIP: VoIP’s real impact is that it resets customer expectations about what a voice service should cost, and what features a voice service should include.

Many VoIP subscribers use inexpensive VoIP services as a replacement for more expensive switched telephone services, of course. Incumbents in many European countries have responded by offering low-cost VoIP services themselves, or by slashing the price of their switched telephone services. In most cases, they have done both.

That is a precedent U.S. service providers will have to face at some point, but it obviously makes sense for them to delay that shift as long as possible. The reasons are obvious.

Where European incumbents have been forced to compete vigorously in the VoIP market, they have had declining voice revenues, in part because of revenue lost to VoIP services, and in part because pricing on legacy services have been reduced as well.

TeleGeography projects revenues from residential switched telephone services in Europe will decline from €33.6 billion in 2007 to €15.7 billion in 2012 as a result.

So far, VoIP has not had that trajectory. Both markets experienced similar growth patterns over the first few years of development, but began to diverge in 2006, as pricing, regulatory incentives and incumbent business strategies have been more favorable to VoIP in Europe, compared to the United States.

European dual-play and triple-play services are generally priced more aggressively than in the United States; much more aggressively. The median price for a triple-play bundle was €48, approximately 40 percent less than triple-play packages in the United States. That makes VoIP a much more attractive proposition than in the U.S. market, at least when purchased from an incumbent telephone company.

Competitive service providers in Europe also have easy access to incumbent local copper loops at regulated rates, due to a regulatory environment that is shaped by the relative weakness of cable competition in most countries as well as a belief that capital is not available to fund duplicate broadband facilities.

In the U.S. market, regulators surveying a landscape with strong cable company alternative facilities have decided to rely on a robust competition between rival cable and telco broadband access networks.

As a result, European consumers can choose between multiple broadband and VoIP service providers, who have low-cost access to local loop facilities in a way not matched in the U.S. market. In the United States, cable companies, who own their facilities, are the primary providers of VoIP services.

The other key differences are the business strategies of incumbents. As a result of regulatory policies favorable to competitors as well as retail pricing levels, incumbents have been forced to compete in the VoIP market, unlike their U.S. counterparts.

In Europe, incumbent service providers accounted for 33 percent of VoIP subscribers. Many incumbents, including Telefonica, France Telecom, and Swisscom, also compete actively in neighboring countries.

In contrast, U.S. incumbents have thus far remained largely on the sidelines. Assuming that these factors will remain in place, we project that European consumer adoption will continue to outpace U.S. adoption of IP telephony services, TeleGeography
researchers say.

Based on current market trends, TeleGeography projects that 37 percent of European households will have VoIP phone service by 2012, compared with less than 20 percent of U.S. households.

If those projections prove accurate, it is unlikely U.S. phone companies will conclude the time has come for an aggressive VoIP rollout. That should continue to create an umbrella under which cable companies and independent providers can continue to grow without facing a direct clash with the telcos.

Source: http://www.ipbusinessmag.com/departments/article/id/453/euro-voip-grows-at-blistering-pace

VoIP Internet Telephony and Wireless Technologies

Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is a broad-spectrum term for a family of communication technologies for deliverance of voice communications over IP networks. Technology is driving competition at the edges. Wireless and VoIP technologies are beginning to put in the hands of consumers, small companies and social activists (easy to install & use, low cost customer premise equipment) the means to connect to IP Networks; at times challenging, at times circumventing and at times changing the regulatory environment. These technological advances are seen in developed countries as opportunities to further facilities-based competition and are welcomed by independent regulators. Competition takes place predominantly in profitable dense urban markets that can sustain several competing infrastructural networks mobile, cable, and land lines.

Internet telephony (VoIP) and Wireless technologies are radically transforming the telecommunications sector. By enabling rapid low cost consumption of service to traditionally underserved populations and expanding backhaul and last mile options, wireless technologies are making it easier for new competitors to begin to challenge the traditional dominance of circuit switch operators. VoIP enhances the value of IP Networks and challenges traditional revenue models of incumbents. The two combined, wireless and VoIP, have the potential to inflict havoc with businesses dependent on land lines. Implementation of VoIP is essentially beneficial for reducing communication and infrastructure costs.

Wireless networks enhanced by the ability to provide voice services over the Internet can potentially enable new operators to challenge the dominance of incumbents' land line networks. The VoIP has the ability to transmit more than one telephone call over the same broadband connection. This can make VoIP a simple way to add an extra telephone line to a home or office. VoIP is very valuable to low income users. Some countries see VoIP as an innovative technology that increases competition and a way to lower costs and increase consumer surplus. The US's follows a minimal regulation approach requiring only basic quality standards, such as the provision that VoIP phones be able to connect to the national 911 emergency number.

The situation is quite different in developing countries, where restrictions on VoIP aggravate the development of IP based networks. Regulators are generally weak, lacking independence and often part of a system in which the legacy operator captures the regulatory and political processes. Monopoly operators serving metropolitan markets have faced some challenges mainly from mobile networks. The markets that remain untapped are rural, high cost, low-income and high risk. Serving these markets requires large investments that have not been forthcoming from the private sector. There have been few new entrants on account of the low potential profits, but also because of the high risks and obstacles associated with penetrating a weakly regulated market dominated by a monopoly.

As the popularity of VoIP grows, and PSTN users switch to VoIP in increasing numbers, governments are becoming more interested in regulating VoIP in a manner similar to PSTN services. VoIP can facilitate tasks and provide services that may be more difficult to implement using the PSTN. In India, it is legal to use VoIP, but it is illegal to have VoIP gateways inside India.

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Source: http://www.articlemoney.net/computers/voip-internet-telephony-and-wireless-technologies.html

Prepaid calling cards – one can save up to 80% on phone bills

Phone cards- Calling Cards- International Calling cards, Overseas Calling cards, Long distance phone cards - Are they different?

They are one and the same.

Is it a physical product like our master or visa card? No, it is a virtual product with a PIN number.

Phone card business is an online business. The phone card vendor will have a website where his products are displayed, an online billing system and a ready to help customer service line. He will buy a block of time (like several thousand minutes) from a major phone carrier and in turn gets a discount.

Phone card buyer - How is he benefiting?

• As the vendor of the calling card is passing a part of the discount to the customer, he is enjoying overseas calling at a very reasonable rate.

• He can choose the type of the card most suitable to his needs. Many phone card or calling card sites will have a help feature in their site, which will assist the buyer in purchasing the best phone card. Choosing the best card will save lot of money on international calling.

• The buyer of the prepaid calling card, before purchasing a card, can also go through the frequently asked questions. He might find some of his queries answered from them.

• Apart from this, before purchasing a calling card, the buyer can directly get in touch with the customer service cell of the phone card supplier and get a clear picture of the charges like connection fee, maintenance fee etc. The buyer will benefit a lot by selecting a phone card which does not have the above mentioned charges.

• International students, who want to get in touch with their parents or friends benefit by purchasing a calling card, which is region specific. Thus can a save a lot on their calling expenditure or living expenditure. They can purchase a phone card with as little as $10

• And remember the expiry date of the prepaid calling card and avail the calling time before the expiry.

• Cell phone users save huge amount by using phone cards rather than using the service provider’s long distance calling offer.

Prepaid phone cards: a trustworthy way to place domestic calls

To make inland and international calls you may use prepaid phone cards settling the calls in advance. You pay for long-range communication services beforehand. You do not have to cover whatever monthly payments, no necessity to cover communication charges, and no need to sign a contract. You won't obtain telephone bills at the end of the month. You only pay for the duration of your calls in advance and decrease the time of international phone card, as you make rings.

The good news about phone cards is that they enable you to save considerable sums of money in case of comparison with other ways of making long distance calls. A prepaid calling card that is the most suitable for you can be discovered if you conduct a little research. People that have a little free time will identify States prepaid calling cards with the best rates with no difficulty.

We propose reasonable rates. Comparing the tariffs and services of this company with those of the opponents you'll come to the conclusion that such international calling card and facilities are really the cheapest. One may be ensured to strike a square bargain making a purchase in this Internet store. The assortment of our long distance phone cards is continually being updated and costs are becoming more affordable. To obtain the best rates you need to become the client of our store. To discover the card having the best rate is simple as the range of our calling cards is really great.. Mind that placing international calls with our phone cards you'll be able to save much money.

This phone card can be utilized in whatever part of the world irrespective of whether you're a tourist wanting to call home or you have a friend who's enjoying themselves in India and whom you desire to phone. If you compare the tariffs of our international phone cards with the rest of calling cards you'll notice that you'll be enabled to economize much cash with them.

All consumers of this agency are supplied with first degree facilities of domestic and international telephone communication via international calling card giving them connection with excellent grade and self-acting scan. We prefer to deal with the leading distributors of international calling card that propose the lowest services and tariffs so all of our customers receive the services of the best quality. Rates which we propose are one of the finest in the market.

The reasons why people select one or another calling card are ease of making international calls, reliability of communication and availability with regard to the value. Our prepaid calling cards will be a perfect choice.

At present one may make domestic and long distance rings and be not frightened by bad communication or high worth. Prepaid calling cards are gaining much spreading among learners, tourists, individuals who're in business trip abroad and also people who have mates or relatives in some part of the world. With our calling cards you'll quite frequently identify the lowest tariff to make an international call. We hope that our online store will be for you a synonym of reliability, competence and grade of servicing.

Article Source: http://www.ArticleBlast.com

Calling Cards to Keep you Connected

By the 1870s and 1880s, one could put across simple communication by folding down the corners of a calling card. The different parts of the calling card could be folded to convey different reasons of the visit. For instance, the entire left side of the card could be folded to say that s/he had come to visit the woman of the family. However, these were the inception of the calling cards and we are dealing with the cards that help us to establish communication over long distances in this age of the telecommunication boom. 

Now, there are prepaid calling cards that help you connect with your relatives, family and colleagues almost hassle-free. The idea of the prepaid calling card is primarily based on you not having to pay exorbitant prices for your calls. The prepaid calling card is a one-stop option to make many calls at affordable rates. If you need immediate credit to make calls to a particular country for a short period, then a calling card is the right option. Nowadays, free call cards are also offered to attract the customers. One of the prime advantages of the calling card is that you know about your spending and the place you are spending that amount. 

The calling cards are cheaper as the call card providers purchase the call credits in large amount from major companies that provide telecommunication services, getting huge discounts, and passing on the profits to the end users. The call cards provide a minimum call credit of 5 pounds also. The call cards are considered very convenient for making international calls for good verbal and aural communication over the IP network or the broadband connection. 

The calling cards are based on the operation of the VoIP technology of packet switching over the Internet. This is what makes these cards so cost effective and convenient to operate. These call cards are conveniently designed and can be easily carried by the user, as they are small rectangular shaped plastic cards that can slip in just about anywhere. The call cards are also available in different denominations, ranging from 5 pounds to as much as 100 pounds. 

If we compare these cards with traditional patterns of communication, the Public Switch Telephony Network or PSTN charges are slashed. There is reduction in the ‘per minute’ charges and the surcharge amount is also reduced. The calling cards offer attractive features like voice mail, caller ID and three–way conferencing. Operating these cards is also very easy and the user just has to manage the PIN numbers in order to make a call. Calling cards offer the facility of talking for longer periods without the hassles of bills worrying you to no end.

Article source: http://www.articlesphere.com/Article/Calling-Cards-to-Keep-you-Connected/157114

Advice for Finding the Right Phone Card for You

Before your rush out and buy a phone card (especially those of your who have never used one), there are a few things to keep in mind. The following phone card advice will give you the basic information you need to select the right phone card for your specific calling needs.

Phone Card Advice:

§     Compare Phone Cards - There are many considerations to include in your purchase decision (rate, fees, guarantee, expiration date, quality, etc.).

§     Review Rates - Keep in mind that the lowest and highest rates are not always the best and worse (respectively). Fees can have a huge impact on the final rate and ultimately the amount of minutes you receive.

§     Look for Additional Fees - In many cases buying a phone card with fees is a good decision. Since many carriers deduct fees after the first hang-up you can avoid them by using all available minutes on one phone call, thus getting the best possible rate.

§     Compare Expiration Dates - This is important if you intend to purchase a phone card to use at a later date or decide to leave minutes on it to make multiple calls.

§     Look for Guarantee & Return Policy - Finding a phone card retailer that offers a guarantee and a clear return policy is important. Many do not offer a guarantee or a clear return policy, which means you could be stuck should any issues arise with your phone card.

§     Consider Your Specific Calling Needs - If you intend to make many shorter length calls (leaving minutes on your card), consider a phone card with little to no additional carrier fees. If you intend to make long calls and can use a card in one call consider a card with a lower rate, but be sure you use all of the minutes or they could be quickly depleted by any carrier-based fees. Phone cards come available in many denominations (values) to help fit your calling needs and budget.

We hope to have dispelled the belief that making an international phone call from your cell phone is expensive. Millions of people use phone cards every year to make international calls from their cell phone while reducing their costs by up to 95% on every call. Further, technology today is such that you can use a phone card to make an international phone call from your cell phone without sacrificing calling convenience. Your next call should be clear.

Source: http://speedypin.com/phone/card/articles-cell-users-cut-international-calling-costs-phone-cards.html

Who Are Calling Cards Intended for? Businessmen? Parents?

Lots of telecom customers report using prepaid calling cards for international calls to be convenient and inexpensive for their pockets. In case you guide some employees who have to leave their workplaces or children who study far from home, calling cards will help you establish connection with both.

When giving prepaid phone cards to children or officers to let them call you anytime, make sure the cards you're buying are sold by a reliable phone card business. Some calling cards can give you additional hassle due to busy signals. When you dial the number, the operator tells you of the circuits occupied and asks you to dial the number a bit later. It would be inconvenient for you and officers to find the line occupied after you bought a phone card for them to stay in touch with you and inform you of how it is going.