How To Choose A Long Distance Calling Solution

In the present telecommunication industry there are many ways of making long distance and international calls. So, which one to choose?

To answer your question first you will need to choose one of the below situations.
1. I am a residential customer making long distance or international calls on a regular basis and don’t have broadband internet.
2. I am a residential customer making long distance or international calls on a regular basis and I have broadband internet.
3. I am a business customer and want to make international or long distance calls from my cell phone.
4. I am just visiting (and won’t keep this phone number for a long time)

Once you decide which point describes your situation the best, the rest is easy to decide.

1. In this case you will most likely want to go with a Long Distance Plan which will simply replace your existing local company’s long distance access (or connect a new long distance access if you don’t yet have any) for a more cheaper and suitable calling rate. Most local phone companies charge higher rates for long distance calls. So choosing a dedicated Long Distance Service will help you save on all of your long distance and international calls. To do so, you simply need to sign up with a Long Distance Carrier, then call your local phone company and notify them that you are switching your Long Distance Carrier. The switching process usually takes about five business days after that you may simply pick up the phone, dial 011 and follow with your long distance or international number. There are no access numbers, no pins, nothing…. This is the most convenient way to dial if you are a residential customer or a business customer who don’t have any broadband internet connection.

2. In this case if you have broadband internet, you can go for even bigger savings by connecting through a VoIP Provider. VoIP is the newest technology in internet telephony and stands for Voice over Internet Protocol. The process of connecting to a VoIP most of the time involves canceling your local phone because it becomes useless for you and will just waste money if you already have a VoIP. Typically what happens is you get a hardware called VoIP adapter which you connect to your broadband internet cable, and then you connect your phone to that hardware. Also, there are VoIP phones which you can directly connect to your broadband internet cable and you’re all set. There is a connection fee with this service because your VoIP Provider gives you the hardware which costs them money. Your VoIP Provider then designates a phone number for you which in most cases you can choose to have your area code. You simply get a full service phone (which most of the time contains even more features than your ordinary local phone company gives you), which is much cheaper to make long distance and international calls with. This is an ideal solution for residential customers or business costumers who regularly make international or long distance calls and have a broadband internet access. Most of VoIP Providers will give you unlimited long distance (domestic) minutes included in your plan. The Prices start as low as $10-20 per month for this service whereas an ordinary land line phone will cost $40-50 per month with fewer features and with no long distance minutes included.

3. In this case you might be interested in Dial Around Service. The Dial Around Service is a long distance calling plan which allows you to make calls without using any pins. This is also known as “No PIN Dialing”. Generally, this is a prepaid and rechargeable service and doesn’t have any maintenance or connection fees. So simply what you pay is what you get, and no additional minutes are deducted from your balance. The process of dialing is simple: you pickup your phone and dial an access number which your provider will give you, after that you usually are being notified about your remaining balance and being prompted to enter your destination number. There are no pins which makes the process more convenient. The account is being identified by your phone number. If you have caller id blocking enabled on your phone, than you will need to dial *82 to unblock it, so that the provider’s system can recognize your phone number. The good thing about this kind of service is that it doesn’t expire, it doesn’t have maintenance or connection fees, and you can use it anytime and anywhere from your cell phone. This is a really great solution for business people who are traveling frequently.

4. In this case probably the most suitable solution for you is the Calling Cards. Since you don’t plan to keep your phone number for a long time (it’s either a prepaid phone or a phone borrowed from a friend or something like that) and you don’t wish to connect a calling plan to it. The calling cards might seem expensive from a price-per minute view, but they are cheaper from a price for connection view. With this service you buy a calling card, dial the access number on it, enter the pin and then the phone number you whish to dial. The calling cards in most cases have maintenance fee, connection fee and other fees. For instance if you buy a 5$ card which says 5 cents for the country you will dial, you will most likely not end up having 100 minutes to your destination. In most cases you will end up making a call for 60-70 minutes or even less. The reason why your minutes will not be accurate is because every time you make a call, there are additional fees, such as taxes, maintenance fees, connection fees, and others which are being deducted from your card. Moreover, the phone cards have an expiration time and you won’t be able to make any more calls regardless of how much balance you have used in the past. The calling cards are probably the most suitable solution if you need to make some calls in a short period of time (10-15 days) and need a solution right away (and this is the fastest setup for you).