Is It Possible to Understand Telephone Rates?

by Jim Headley

Published on this site: December 10th, 2005 - See more articles from this month

If you are like me, finding the best telephone rates can be quite confusing. This is particularly true when using a cellular phone. I see all of the commercials and hear the radio advertisements about roll over minutes, night and weekend minutes, family plan minutes, in network minutes, etc. Frankly I get very frustrated with trying to understand all of the jargon, reading the fine print of how these different calling plans actually work, and trying to understand what they will cost me in the end.

Now if you are someone who makes international phone calls, it becomes even more complicated to understand. Do all of these minutes that the phone companies offer apply to international calls? I receive the phone calls from telemarketers occasionally wanting me to switch services and they claim that I can save money if I do so. Maybe I can save money if I switch, but I always decline because their new plan is full of all kinds of mumbo jumbo that I don't quite understand.

Finding a calling plan that is easy to understand and that is not full of hidden charges is difficult. Most of the plans that are offered to you are full of loopholes that the companies put in so that they can make a handsome profit. This is particularly true if you want to make international phone calls. Making international phone calls has often been one of the most expensive types of phone calls that you can make.

If you are a businessperson who makes international phone calls regularly, or someone who keeps in touch with friends or family overseas, then you know just how expensive these calls can be. Today, there are international phone cards that you can use to make the calls and these phone cards can save you a great deal of money. Unfortunately many of these international phone calls come with hidden charges.

Let's review some of the hidden fees that are put in place by calling card companies. First you have a connection fee, also called a first minute surcharge. This can be as high as $3.00! If you drop the call or have to redial the number you will be charged twice! There are also disconnection fees to watch out for as well as maintenance fees. You could be paying maintenance fees without even making a phone call. A "long talking" fee is a hidden fee that can be applied if you speak for over 20 minutes. This fee can be as high as 40 cents, which comes out to being an extra 2 cents per minute.

With all of these hidden fees, users of calling cards need to be wary of which calling card company they choose to utilize. Believe it or not there is at least one calling card company that I am aware of that does not charge any hidden fees to its customers. This company is "send global". Send global provides a simple flat rate international calling card that offers competitive rates, particularly for international phone calls.

Companies, like send global, that provide a simple flat rate for phone calls give you a great bargain. There are no annoying access codes to enter before making a phone call and you wont have any surprises in hidden charges.

These international phone cards can easily be used from your cellular phone so that you can call internationally no matter where you are. Making international phone calls from your cellular phone is a great convenience, especially if you are trying to do international business. With significant time zone differences, making international phone calls from your cellular phone makes good sense. This way you do not have to go back to your office in the evening just to call an overseas business associate during his or her work hours. Flat rate international calling cards that do not have any hidden fees just make good business sense for those who make international business phone calls.

Check out send global today and see if their product is right for you and your needs. Best of all you can try it out for free with no obligation to see how it works.

Jim Headley, ([email protected]) VP of New Business Development, Telecents Communications Inc. Telecents' SENDGLOBAL brand offers FREE International Calling Call Free to Europe, South America, Asian, Mexico, Middle East, India. Visit http://www.sendglobal.com enter promo code "DJ7U5".Want to become an agent/affiliate? Go to http://www.sendglobl.info login TCI