If you have done any research into the confusing world of 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 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 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 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 a 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.

Prepaid phone cards can be bought at many retail sites as well as by mail and on the Internet. Before purchasing a prepaid phone card, it is important to ask the salesperson about in-state, state-to-state and international rates, connection fees, service or maintenance fees, when the card expires and if there are any other restrictions or limitations on its use. This especially applies to first-time buyers as well as brands that one has not encountered before. In many cases, this set of information will be on the card wrapper or on a poster in the store. If one could not obtain answers, call the customer service number and ask. If the service representative could neither answer all the questions fully, keep shopping until a prepaid phone card company that can is found.

One way to test an unfamiliar prepaid phone card or company is to buy a small denomination card and see how it works. Never accept a card on which the scratch-off covering on the Personal Identification Number (PIN) has already been removed or that does not provide the terms and conditions of the card.

Most cards offer taped instructions in languages besides English. Hence, before buying a prepaid phone card, make sure that it has the required language.

Most prepaid phone cards are disposable, which can be thrown away if all used up. Yet another type, which is also quite popular these days, is often sold on the Internet or by mail. This type of card is rechargeable by calling the company and paying for more additional minutes.

Many prepaid phone cards are also advertised in newspapers and magazines. One can order these cards over the phone and pay with a credit or debit card. The order can also be sent through mail and pay with a check or money order. Many prepaid phone cards are sold on the Internet, the mode of payment for which also being a credit or a debit card. All mail order, phone and Internet sales are subject to shipping and handling charges of up to $10 per order. It is crucial to ask for the terms and conditions from such retailers, because a consumer’s use of the card will normally be governed by these.

Some companies sell “virtual” prepaid phone cards on the Internet to customers who have e-mail addresses. After the order has been processed, one receives an e-mail containing a toll-free access number and PIN that one can use to place calls. Virtual cards don't have shipping and handling charges, but may include a processing fee.

The proliferation of various prepaid phone card providers in the market these days has been triggered by low start-up costs. In a significant number of cases, companies have taken customers’ money and left them with worthless cards. There also have been other reported forms of unlawful or deceptive sales practices involving prepaid phone cards. Some card providers fail to tell consumers about fees, surcharges and other costs, or hide them in small, hard-to-read print. About 10 states have ratified laws that require the full disclosure of prepaid phone card costs. In all states, deceptive and unfair trade practices are against the law, even if no specific rules cover prepaid phone card packaging.

For those who have been victimized by fraud while using a prepaid phone card, the first step is to talk to the company. An industry association, the International Prepaid Communications Association (IPCA), operates a toll-free hotline for customers who have problems with or questions about prepaid phone cards. If talking to the company cannot resolve the problem, or worse, if the company does not answer its phone, then call the local district attorney's consumer fraud unit, or the state public service commission or attorney general's office for further action.

With change in times our needs and requirements too change drastically. This is exactly what has happened in terms of our telecommunication needs. Communication or networking is no longer restricted to making everyday local calls and an international call on a rare occasion. With globalisation coming into the picture, business houses face a completely different set of requirements; one that the traditional telephony system was unable to fulfill.

VoIP solution came as an answer to these requirements of the corporates. It takes care of the entire communication structure of the organization and helps provide seamless connectivity within the various branches at no additional cost. The benefits of voice over IP doesn't stop here, there’s more to it.

SIP solution or VoIP as it is popularly referred to as integrates voice, video and data on a single network thereby increasing the efficiency and productivity of the organization. Analysing the VoIP reviews clearly reveal that organisations which have switched over to voice over IP telephony service are able to not just increase their revenue generation but also helps improve competitiveness position.

VoIP is ideal for all the sectors of the industry irrespective of the size of the organization. Voice over IP solution is best for corporates, contact centers and even Internet service providers.

Business solution VoIP is an extensive package which encompasses a single solution required for fulfilling all the communication requirements of a corporate house. One of its most important features is that it is cost effective as it relies on Internet for call transmission. Thereby corporates end up saving tremendously on their monthly telephony bills. In order to get a rough approximate of how much you will save; simply divide your yearly spending on telephony by half. Tentatively this would be the amount you will end up saving.

Internet service providers can increase their earnings by bundling up their services with VoIP business solution thereby increasing their product line alone with it. Not just this but this is a great idea for getting the most out of your existing clientage.

First of all, unless you're a gadget lover who had the skinny on VOIP long before most people had even heard of it, it's probably a great idea for you to know what VOIP is! With all the acronyms flying around these days, sometimes it's hard to know just what a set of initials stands for. VOIP stands for Voice Over Internet Protocol. VOIP often masquerades by other names as well, such as: IP Telephony, Internet telephony, and digital phone.

Now that you know what VOIP stands for, I'm sure you want to know what it is exactly. VOIP is the latest, hottest trend in telephone service. VOIP makes it possible to have voice conversations over the Internet through the use of Internet phones.

Now this ability to have conversations via your computer has many advantages. One is that it makes it easy for business people to stay connected and in touch. VOIP technology also has the advantage of giving people from around the globe an opportunity to talk directly for generally much less than long distance charges would be. The savings on telephone charges alone make VOIP highly attractive to many people.

While these are great advantages, there is a downside. Because of its newness, VOIP technology is not quite as good overall as ordinary telephone service. Many people who use Internet telephony complain about the reception they get. This technology is rapidly improving, though, and some VOIP providers already have pretty darn good equipment out there.

Too, unless your digital telephone is directly connected to a landline phone company, you will be at the mercy of power outages. There's also a problem with Internet providers going down and leaving you stranded without telephone service. So many experts recommend that you keep a landline or cell phone along with your Internet phone. This, of course, pushes up costs which makes VOIP telephones less desirable to many folks.

Another downside to VOIP technology that's very important to know about is that it is susceptible to identity theft. Because many VOIP service providers do not have secure lines—yet—your calls can be listened to by people you aren't aware are listening in.

It's a little like the old days when the telephone was first invented and mass produced. People called through what were call “party” lines that meant anyone could listen—and they did. We humans just can't resist eavesdropping. Today, though, this can also make it easy for those unscrupulous, well, thugs to rip off your personal and confidential information. So when choosing a VOIP service provider, you want to be sure you're getting the most secure line as possible.

And just like when the telephone was first invented, VOIP technology will take some time to perfect. But it is technology that's here to stay. As people get busier and are attempting to multi-task everything, being able to have a telephone conversation while you continue to work on your computer, all in one simple package, is just too good to resist. So the one thing you can count on is that in a year or two, VOIP telephones will be practically as common as cell phones—and probably with equipment and service plans available that are as good as cell phone manufacturers and service providers have now.

Prepaid phone cards were developed in Italy in 1976 to compensate for the shortage of coins. People just insert the cards with magnetic strips in the payphone and they can start calling right away. While on a call, call credits are deducted at rates that depend to where they are calling.

More than 30 years after its development, prepaid phone cards still exist and they have been improved on a large scale. Unlike before, prepaid phone cards nowadays use smart chips instead of magnetic strips. Also, prepaid phone cards can be used with any phone, anywhere and at any time.

But even with its improvements, questions about its convenience still lurk around. To answer the question whether prepaid phone cards are truly convenient, look at the advantages and disadvantages it provides.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Prepaid Phone Cards

One very evident advantage of prepaid of phone cards is that it's handy. Try carrying a hundred dollars worth of quarters in your pockets -- convenient? A single prepaid phone card can hold a hundred dollars worth of prepaid phone credits. Because of its slim and almost paper-like structure, you have the convenience of putting it in any of your pockets. But because of this advantage, one hundred dollars in a small and slim card, also has the disadvantage of easily losing or misplacing it which means losing a hundred bucks in an instant.

Another advantage of prepaid phone cards can be based on its features. The basic feature of prepaid phone cards is that you can call using any phone, anywhere at anytime. A mobile phone with no talk time can use a prepaid phone card to call anybody in the world. The urgent need to call a business partner abroad immediately is not a problem with the use of prepaid phone cards. The ability of calling anyone, anytime, anywhere in the world is just in a small piece of card. Technology has made the world smaller and they made it even smaller with the use of prepaid phone cards.

But technology has also developed people who want to exploit and to take advantage of this in a not so good way. Other disadvantages of prepaid phone cards include scams and fraud. Scams usually happen when another person asks you regarding information about your card like a few digits and you unsuspectingly give them what they want.

Because of technology a few digits can mean a whole lot of things and before you know it, you have been scammed. There are also prepaid phone card companies / brands that charge more than they should do and this is how fraud happens. They do not inform customers properly of the call rates that that certain prepaid phone card has.

As you may observe, most of the time the advantages of prepaid phone cards also have opposing disadvantages and vice-versa. So does it mean that prepaid phone cards are not convenient? Actually, what it means is that convenience with prepaid phone cards is not absolute. It all depends on who is using it and his / her preference.