catholic calling cards for mexican prepaid phone cards that are holy calling cards blesses by mexican phone card priest.

catholic calling cards for mexican prepaid phone cards that are holy calling cards blesses by mexican phone card priest.

Holy calling card gets you blessed by Mexican priest
18:49 H Topics: Marketing - Mexico - Religion
File this under: tacky marketing ploys. I'm usually not shocked by the sketchy marketing tactics that some companies use to promote their products to the Latino market. After all, I am in the business, so I've seen my share of lame campaigns, promotions, slogans, etc. But when I read about the Mexican Catholic Church getting kickbacks from a calling card company for use of the image of the Virgen de Guadalupe...I wanted to be amused but I just felt...ick.
The Catholic Church in Mexico is set to receive a cash bonanza from a U.S. company planning to sell prepaid phone cards with a printed image of the Virgin of Guadalupe, Mexico's most revered religious symbol.
"We are not selling blessings, we are promoting benefactors," said Mexican Monsignor Diego Monroy Ponce, whose recorded voice will bless customers when they use the $3 and $5 cards to place long-distance or cell-phone calls.Talk about cheapening one's supposedly deeply held beliefs. I'm no Catholic, but this makes me sick.

Beyond the standard "a symbol that is holy to a group of people shouldn't be monetized" (which is all too often is -- a trip to the Basilica de Guadalupe in Mexico will get you enough virgencita schwag to last you a lifetime -- and it's not free), what's most disgusting is that it's actually the church that's benefiting from the exploitation.
And if you look at strictly from a marketing ethics perspective, you are cashing in on the hopes/fears/needs of a population by offering a prayer from the Monsignor as a bonus to make sure that this card is the card of choice -- whether or not it's the best deal. You are cheapening their faith. The Monsignor is cheapening his words. And it's just another way to make money off of Latinos by targeting a soft spot. I think it's insulting.
"We are blessed with this product," said John Lennon, an executive at U.S. Starcom, which plans an initial distribution of 100,000 phone cards in June to Hispanic grocery stores in Canada and the United States. Blessed indeed. The phone card industry already makes so much money off of Latinos. Was this really necessary?
Via / Hispanic Tips and AZStarNet

catholic calling cards for mexican prepaid phone cards that are holy calling cards blesses by mexican phone card priest.

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TM launches iTalk with Mobile long distance calling call service

TM launches iTalk with Mobile
Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM) has launched its enhanced and upgraded prepaid calling card using the Voice Over Internet Protocol, “iTalk with Mobile”, which provides convenience and attractive rates to users.
It said users are able to make domestic and international calls to and from overseas at a competitive price with any Homeline, Businessline and mobile phones.
Speaking at the launch of the prepaid calling card in Kuala Lumpur on May 26, TM retail chief operating officer Datuk Adnan Rofiee said: “The launch of iTalk with Mobile marks TM’s commitment in providing the most convenient and user-friendly way of communicating, especially considering the trend of high mobile usage these days.” Customers can enjoy nationwide call rates as low as 12 sen per minute, as well as a very competitive rate for international calls and access the Internet.
Adnan said: “TM has come up with this innovation to extend the value of iTalk card to the mobile phone users. The enhancement of the original service to iTalk with Mobile would be useful for existing iTalk users and also new customers.”
Customers can purchase the calling cards from more than 10,000 distribution outlets nationwide, TMpoint outlets nationwide, mobile phone retailers, petrol stations, convenience stores or via online at Maybank2u. The cards are available in denominations of RM10, RM30 and RM50.

prepaid pay phone cards to help prepare for your world cup trip vacation tips.

Ways to avoid those World Cup penalties Win or lose on the pitch, Germany could be costly for English fans who don't have the right financial tactics. Lisa Bachelor does some touchline coaching Sunday May 28, 2006The Observer
Do I really need travel insurance?
If you're only popping over to Germany for a weekend, it may not have crossed your mind to take out travel insurance. But not covering yourself for a short break could be costly - especially if thieves decide to target expensive items such as a digital or video camera or if, God forbid, you need an air ambulance to fly you home.
When you take out insurance there will be a limit to how much you can claim for a single item - often about £200 - so make sure this is adequate. Another option is to insure such items on your home contents insurance, which is likely to give you a higher single item limit. Norwich Union will add £2,000 of personal belongings cover to a home contents policy for about £15 a year, which gives a £1,500 single-item limit and covers unlimited time abroad (some insurers limit trips to 60 days).
Some credit cards and current accounts come with travel insurance included, but check what this excludes before you go, as cover is rarely comprehensive.
It is worth shopping around for the right policy - and if you're a regular traveller, an annual policy will almost certainly work out cheaper than several single-trip ones. A recent survey by Which? found annual policies covering Europe online for £27 and £28 from, respectively, Family Care (the price is slightly higher if bought over the telephone) and Travel-insurance-web.com, which only offers that price to customers who are under 49.
Avoiding your high street travel agent or airline operator is also likely to save you a few pounds. Internet brokers insuresupermarket.com found that a single-trip policy for a 35-year-old male travelling to Germany for two weeks with Going Places cost £20.44. On the internet the same policy cost £9.50 from Primary Care. A three-day trip can be covered for as little as £5.88 with JS Insurance's Super Plus Cover - which includes £1,500-worth of baggage cover.
According to Which?, holidaymakers should aim for a policy which provides at least £1m worth of cover for medical expenses in Europe and £2m elsewhere. You should also aim for £1m of personal liability cover, protection against cancellations and at least £1,500 in baggage and belongings cover. It's worth bearing in mind that insurers won't pay out if you injure yourself when under the influence of alcohol.
What is an EHIC and do I need one?
The European Health Insurance Card replaces the E1-11 form and allows you limited state medical treatment for free under reciprocal health arrangements with EU countries as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. It is not an alternative to travel insurance as it will not cover you for all eventualities and doesn't have the additional benefits that travel insurance offers, such as cover for cancellation or lost belongings.
'We know of one case recently where a lady in Spain was covered by her EHIC for seven days of in-patient treatment, but she was then hit with £3,500 to pay for an air ambulance to fly her back to the UK,' says Dawn McMullan of Norwich Union.
The card will also only provide state-sector medical treatment, not private care, and even then you may not get everything you might expect from the NHS. In Germany, for example, you would still have to pay to see a doctor and for hospital in-patient treatment, although some medical emergency treatment costs will be met.
Each person travelling needs their own card, and you need to allow time to get your application processed before you go. Apply online at www.ehic.org.uk, call 0845 606 2030 or pick up an application form from the Post Office. Internet applications take up to seven days to process, while phone applications should not take more than 10 days and applying by post will take up to 21 days.
Does it matter where I get my currency?
You can, of course, pick up your currency from the airport, but you won't be getting the cheapest deal - and your high street bank is also unlikely to offer the best prices. It's not really necessary to pay commission on currency exchange these days - a survey by data provider Moneyfacts found that holidaymakers buying €1,000 could pay up to £40 extra by failing to shop around.
When looking for the best price, consider both the commission charges and the exchange rate - which changes daily. 'Surprisingly, providers who offer 0 per cent commission also offer some of the better exchange rates on the market,' said Lisa Taylor of moneyfacts.co.uk. 'With commission charges ranging from 0 per cent to 2 per cent, and with rates differing by up to 3.9 per cent, there is significant variation between providers.'
Moneyfacts found that Thomas Cook and Marks and Spencer offered the best value for euro travellers' cheques and currency.
M&S also points out that people can potentially save money when looking for an exchange rate if they buy in the afternoon. Often foreign exchange bureaux do not set their rates until midday so that they can compare them with their competitors'. Another M&S tip is that bureaux set prices regionally, so the further out of town you are, the worse the rate you are likely to get.
What's the best plastic to take?
Debit cards rather than credit cards are the way forward in Germany. According to the Association for Payment Clearing Services, the industry body for plastic spending, about two-thirds of German outlets (excluding hotels) are unlikely to accept a credit card. 'Germany is one of the oddest countries in Europe in terms of credit card acceptance,' says association spokesperson Sandra Quinn. 'It's just not a credit card nation.'
When paying for goods overseas, make sure you don't get stung by a practice known as 'dynamic currency conversion', when retailers bill you in sterling rather than in the local currency and charge commission for the service. Ask to be billed in euros - retailers are supposed to give you the choice before billing you, but it doesn't always happen.
For those who haven't yet got kitted out for the contest, MBNA bank is behind the official England credit card. Use the card within 28 days of opening your account and MBNA will send you a voucher for a short-sleeved England home T-shirt (redeemable at any JJB store). The card has a typical 15.9 per cent interest rate, with a 0 per cent balance transfer rate for nine months. Nationwide is the only institution to offer both a debit and a credit card with no foreign loading fee (the amount you get charged for using your card overseas).

Are the new pre-pay cards worth using?
Pre-paid currency cards - sometimes referred to as travellers' cheque cards - are a convenient but expensive way to take money overseas. They work like travellers' cheques, but you don't have to go through the hassle of going to a bank or providing a signature - something Kevin Mitchell, The Observer's chief sports feature writer, wishes he'd been able to forgo when on assignment in Australia. 'I had my signature questioned when trying to cash a traveller's cheque at a bank in Sydney. When I protested and suggested to the bank clerk that not in a million years could anyone reproduce my barely legible scrawl, including me, she called the police,' says Kevin. 'I was questioned for about an hour before they let me go. But the bank still wouldn't cash the cheque.'
You load up the card with money before you go - at which point the exchange rate is set - then use it overseas to buy goods or withdraw cash at an ATM using a Pin. A number of companies offer the cards, including Travelex, Western Union and International Currency Express. Some will charge you to own a card in the first place, and all will charge you for withdrawing cash at an ATM, and often for reloading the card as well.
Travelex is launching a card on 12 June that will be chip and Pin-enabled. It will be free to take out and top up, though ATM withdrawals will cost £2.50 a time. Meanwhile Cash2Go, the card from International Currency Express, has an initial purchase fee of £5 or 1 per cent of the amount loaded (whichever is higher up to a maximum of £18.75). The loading fee to top-up is £3, while an ATM cash withdrawal is £1.75 - there is no fee added when making purchases on the card.
If you are happy to change current accounts and have the time to sort it out before you head off, the Nationwide debit card works out as a much cheaper deal than any of the prepaid cards.
Will my mobile phone bill be enormous?
After pressure from the European Commission over roaming costs - the price you pay for using your phone abroad - three of the four major mobile networks are cutting their prices. Customers of Vodafone and 02 will, however, have to wait until after the World Cup to benefit: Vodafone is reducing its overseas call charges next year, while 02's reductions take effect in mid-July. 02 is cutting prices to call a UK landline from Germany from 85p a minute on a contract phone or 99p a minute on pay-as-you-go to a flat 35p a minute whatever type of call plan you have. T-Mobile's planned reductions make it the cheapest until then. On a contract phone, calling the UK or receiving a call from here while in Germany will cost 55p a minute from 1 June.
However, by far the cheapest option is to buy a German Sim card. You can buy these online before you go from websites such as www.0044.co.uk, www.sim4travel.com or www.gosim.com, for around £30 and they are sent to you in the post.
Once the card is in the phone, your call costs will usually be substantially lower than with the major British networks. 0044 is among the cheapest - it charges £29.99 for a Sim which then allows you to call the UK for 26p a minute. 'The really big advantage with any of these local Sim cards, aside from saving money on making calls, is that you don't pay a thing to receive calls when you're abroad,' says Anthony Ball of mobile phone tariff comparison website Onecompare.com.
You will be given a German mobile phone number, but you can leave a message on your UK Sim to let people who call know that you have a temporary new number while you're away. Some websites, such as 0044 and Gosim, provide you with a UK number so it is cheap for people at home to call you.
You might have to get your handset unlocked to use any new Sim card - specialist mobile phone shops in Britain will do this for you for about £10.

Military International Phone Cards help out for memorial day phone calls

Military International Phone Cards help out for memorial day phone calls

I love stories about people who are doing their own little thing to help the troops. Soldiers' Angels is a group that sews together blankets for wounded soldiers. They need more people to sew. Others coordinate the donation of airline frequent-flier miles to help families get to injured loved ones in a hurry.
Logging on to AnySoldier.com is a quick and easy way to send care packages to soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. This organization, TreatAnySoldier.com, was started by a military mom.
There is also another program that allows donors to purchase calling cards for people in the service.
The VFW also has Operation Uplink, a prepaid-calling-card project, too.

Military International Phone Cards help out for memorial day phone calls

60% Of South Florida Hispanic International Long Distance Callers Surveyed Use International Hispanic Prepaid Calling Cards

Wow 60% Of South Florida Hispanic International Long Distance Callers Surveyed Use International Hispanic Prepaid Calling Cards

60% Of South Florida Hispanic International Long Distance Callers Surveyed Use Prepaid Calling Cards
DUBLIN, Ireland--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 26, 2006--Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c37646) has announced the addition of "Hispanic Markets Report on International Communication Usage by Hispanic Consumers in South Florida" to their offering.
Latin Review is an ongoing survey. The publication provides information on demographics and consumer behavior across a broad variety of topics such as communication, internet usage, money remittances, financial services, property ownership and credit and media habits, among others. Latin Review 2006 is the latest release of this publication, showing the findings of 420 South Florida Hispanics from Central America, South America and the Caribbean. Demographic analysis for key nationalities (Venezuela, Colombia, Peru, Argentina, Mexico, Cuba, Central America, and other South American countries) is made across all topics surveyed.
Latin Review 2006 is the second edition of this survey which studies Hispanic markets in the US and key Latin American markets. It reports on international communication usage by the Hispanic consumer. The report covers characteristics of international long distance communication usage to Latin America, among South Florida Hispanics, their means used and in depth analysis of prepaid calling card usage. 60% of South Florida Hispanic international long distance callers surveyed use prepaid calling cards. The incidence varies across national backgrounds: Colombians, Peruvians and Central Americans concentrate de highest proportion of users (75%). Cubans (33%), Mexicans (31%) and Venezuelans (28%) scored the highest in home provider for international long distance communication usage. Broadband and 1010 123 services account for the lowest penetration.
Characteristics of international long distance communication
-- Communication frequency
-- Who is the frequent home country caller?
-- Average monthly expense of the heavy user - frequent caller
-- Service used for international long distance communication: calling card, home provider, access number with no pin, 1010...123, broadband
-- Phone alternative used for international calls: mobile phone (home vs. on the go), home phone, while at work
Brand awareness of prepaid calling cards:
-- Total responses (top of mind & other responses)
-- Top of mind
-- Other responses
-- Brands used last three month
-- Brands currently used and main brand used
-- Consumer profile
-- Providers used for Voice over IP services
-- Providers used for access number with no pin services
-- Consumer profile
For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c37646

60% Of South Florida Hispanic International Long Distance Callers Surveyed Use International Hispanic Prepaid Calling Cards

International Prepaid Calling Card Market Grows

Prepaid Calling Card Market Grows

Posted on Monday, May 29 @ 09:05:53 CDT by xtv

The increasing rates of international phone calls have been an eye opener for most telephone users. Most homeowners and offices that have very high monthly phone balls are looking into possible solutions to decreasing their overheads.
May 29, 2006 -- The increasing rates of international phone calls have been an eye opener for most telephone users. Most homeowners and offices that have very high monthly phone balls are looking into possible solutions to decreasing their overheads. Totally canceling one’s phone subscription may not be a practical choice for most business owners who may have more to lose if they do not have the capability to call abroad. Most companies have clients abroad and they just could not afford not to make long distance calls. Homeowners who are saddled with very expensive phone bills are also looking into the possibility of canceling their phone subscriptions although. However, the realization that they also need a telephone for personal and business calls has prevented them from canceling their subscriptions.Both homeowners and business owners are thus looking for alternatives to regular phone subscriptions. One such viable and cheaper option is to go for prepaid phone cards. The United States prepaid phone cards is gaining headway with more prepaid phone card choices. The increasing market of prepaid phone cards is encouraging competition which in turn creates a favor for the consumers in terms of affordability and diversified prepaid phone cards. The market’s increasing awareness on the benefits of using prepaid phone cards has made the prepaid phone card business dynamic and very feasible, thus encouraging more market players. So why should people settle for prepaid phone cards instead of settling for regular phone subscriptions with monthly bills? Prepaid phone cards are highly useful and cost effective for students and professionals, households and business people, travelers and even those in the military. While the use of prepaid phone cards has a common result for all its market and that is lesser phone bills, it also has its own advantages for each sector. Households who maintained their monthly subscriptions have experienced a notable decrease in their monthly phone bills when they opted for prepaid phone cards for international phone calls. Students who study abroad and who live in boarding homes have also found prepaid phone cards useful and less expensive since they can budget their expenses for calling home.Travelers who do not have access to regular phones are also able to make long distance calls with their prepaid phone cards no matter where they are and at any time of the day or night considering the existence of phone booths everywhere. Aside from providing cheaper rates that regular phone companies, prepaid phone cards are also more convenient to use. Children can be provided with prepaid phone cards to ensure they can call their parents or guardian anytime in case of emergency. This is also true for companies who have to provide their employees with means to communicate with the head office while traveling. To maximize the savings you can get from a prepaid phone card, you must check the pertinent information about the card like the per minute rate for the United States and for a particular country you are calling, the expiration period from the time the card is activated, if there is and any additional charges for international calls. Also make sure to know if the rates are the same anytime of the day or if it is cheaper to call nighttime or early morning.Contact:Alexa AnchetaFlatRateOnline Inc.http://www.flatrateonline.net/Public/default.aspx1-888-891-8991News Source: PRWeb

A Guide to Choose International PrepiadCalling Cards for Your VoIP Systems

Welcome to the world of VoIP communications. So, finally you have decided to upgrade your communication system. VoIP technology comes in two forms, VoIP hardware based and VoIP software based configurations. If you are using a VoIP software based configuration then the next step is to choose calling cards for your VoIP systems. There are wide varieties of calling cards available with VoIP services provider. So, naturally it becomes confusing for consumers to choose a calling card. However there are certain points which are worth pondering before choosing a calling card.
Access fees - This is a common fees charged every time you place a call and most customers probably know about it already. However, at times when the user makes a call the connection fee is charged without customer uttering a single word. This happens when the call is routed to answering machine and voicemail box. Therefore, to avoid this charge user should simply choose a calling card which has no access fee.
Maintenance fees - This is a fee charged by calling card companies either on a weekly or monthly basis. Before choosing any calling card, you should read the fine print to find out the maintenance fees. Users should look for a card with low maintenance fees.
Service fees - This fee is charged on a usage basis with reference to the call charges. It is typically in the range of 5 to15 per cent.
Billing system - If the company says it uses per minute pulse, a call of 40 seconds will be charged the same as one minute and four minutes and thirty seconds will be charged the same as five minutes. So higher the rounding time the more calling costs you have to pay. Therefore take a card as per your needs.
Extra talking fees – A few calling card providers charge an extended fee if a call goes beyond a specified duration. Check whether the VoIP calling card you buy has such a fee.
Expiry date - Prepaid calling cards generally have an expiry date. Expiry dates are of two types: The date from which the card is being used and a general expiry date. After the expiry date you will not be able to use the calling card even if you have talk time. So, before buying a calling card always check its expiry date.
Before buying any card, find out the average rate per minute after calculating all the costs involved. Explore in the market for the best deal on calling cards and then purchase a card which suits best your needs.
AlenVoIP Phone Servicevoip-traffic.com

Returns India Long Distance calling card calls to india opens up the door to new providers

AT&T returns to India, eyes long-distance services


"
(The Times of India via NewsEdge) AT&T is set to return to India and this time it is tying up with the Anand Mahindra group for entering the booming long distance telephony and Internet business.
The joint venture AT&T Global Network Services, which received a go-ahead from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board, will shortly file an application with the telecom department, seeking a license to offer ILD, STD and Internet services.
The company hopes to commence operations over the next two-four months, subject to receipt of license. AT&T will hold 74% stake in the joint venture, while the remaining holding will be the Mahindras.
AT&T GNS intends to focus on the enterprise segment to begin with and it is unclear if and when it would offer services to retail customers.
AT&T's return follows the communications ministry's recent move to open the long distance business to greater competition by reducing the entry fee and revenue share.
AT&T has business interests in India in the international long distance business through tie-ups with Indian carriers like VSNL, Reliance and Bharti, though it does not have operations in the country at the moment.
The US giant first came to India primarily as a shareholder in Birla AT&T, a cellular service provider, in 1995, which later merged with Tata to form Idea.
© 2006 The Times of India
© 2006 Dialog, a Thomson business. All rights reserved

Reasons to not forego long distance prepaid calling cards calls

Reasons to not forego long distance prepaid calling cards calls

People who cannot forego long distance calls are thus looking for ways to lessen their long distance phone bills even to a fraction of what they are currently paying for this service. One solution to sky rocketing long distance phone bills is the use of international prepaid calling cards. These cards look like the ordinary credit card or automated teller machine card but they can do magic in terms of lowering your phone bills. International prepaid phone cards can be bought anywhere and you can even buy them through the internet.

Reasons to not forego long distance prepaid calling cards calls

You can use the prepaid cards anytime and anywhere when you need them but you must read the card terms and condition because there are cards that have expiration dates once used or activated.Prepaid phone cards are mostly favored by travelers who can just access any public phone and make their long distance calls anywhere. Prepaid phone cards are also ideal for people who may have regular phones but who want to regulate or budget their long distance phone bills.Prepaid phone cards will save the user a lot of money depending on the countries he will be calling. Calls to Canada and some areas in Europe are cheaper while calls to Eastern Europe and Asia are generally more expensive but still cheaper compared to using your regular phones when calling. While prepaid phone cards can be bought anywhere, you must be careful when purchasing from public outlets and take the time to read the terms and conditions of the prepaid phone card. Most of the time, the larger print shows very low long distance rates but when you read the finer prints you may end up spending more when calling abroad. The trick is to divide the prepaid phone card amount with the number of hours that you can use it and you will get the per minute charges. Also be wary of service charges that are unknowingly spent by people on prepaid phone cards. Prepaid phone cards are not only convenient but they also offer anonymity meaning the numbers you are calling will not appear on your phone bills. It is also generally cheaper as compared to international direct dialing service. Most prepaid phone cards are equipped with safety PINS so that the phone card can only be activated by the PIN holder. There are refillable prepaid phone card with matching permanent pins. Prepaid phone cards may be the answer to high international phone bills but the user must also be vigilant of his phone card because he may already be spending more due to unused number of hours once the phone card reaches its expiration. The best way to save even on prepaid phone cards is to read the terms and maximizing the prepaid card’s dull potential.

Reasons to not forego long distance prepaid calling cards calls

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Corporate Prepaid Phone Cards Give Away Promotional Corporate Phone Card Gifts News Update

Corporate Phone Cards Selects Association for International Practical Training as Phone Card of the Month for May 2006
Corporate Phone Card announces this month's winner of the Phone Card of the Month Competition: AIPT, a non-profit, world leader in international human resource development.
(PRWEB) May 23, 2006 -- Each month Corporate Phone Cards, a major supplier of custom-designed promotional and retail phone cards, selects one of their clients’ phone cards to be Phone Card of the Month. This month’s selection is the Association for International Practical Training (AIPT), a non-profit, world leader in international human resource development through practical training programs. Their mission says it all, “AIPT creates the ultimate global training and cultural exchange experience.”For more than five decades AIPT has helped more than 55,000 international and American trainees develop personally and professionally through their unique programs. The results speak for themselves: AIPT alumni continue to become active leaders in their industries and communities.Upon hearing the news that the AIPT custom phone card was selected Phone Card of the Month, AIPT’s Marketing Director Shara Patty said “Our business involves connecting people from around the world through work-based cultural exchanges. We use these cards as one part of our welcome package for our participants. Knowing that our design was noticed by Corporate Phone Cards, to us, means that our participants will notice the importance we place on each detail of their program.”Over the years, AIPT has received trainees from over 90 countries and helped them advance their careers and apply their talents through on-the-job training at organizations throughout the United States and other countries.In choosing the AIPT custom phone card, Catherine M. Cavanagh, President of Corporate Phone Cards, stated that, “AIPT created an attractive image for their phone card and by issuing them to their international trainees, told them of our common need to stay in touch with friends and loved ones.”The AIPT phone card will be highlighted on each page of the Corporate Phone Cards web site during the month, with a link to an internal page that provides a full description of the function and purpose of the organization. From there, there’s a link directly to the AIPT home page.About Corporate Phone Cards:CorporatePhoneCards.com (CPC) is a full service provider of promotional phone cards serving large and small businesses, schools, non-profit organizations, and local and state governments. Their goal is to help clients achieve recognition or create consumer response by designing attractive, professional, and cost-effective advertisements in a space no larger than a business card.The people at CorporatePhoneCards.com have been designing and producing custom phone cards since 1995. CPC has earned the reputation as an honest and dependable supplier of promotional phone cards. Their client base is comprised of Fortune 500 companies as well as small to mid-sized organizations.Order your cards todayhttp://www.corporatephonecards.com

Corporate Prepaid Phone Cards Give Away Promotional Corporate Phone Card Gifts News Update


Corporate Phone Cards Selects Ideazon as First Canadian Phone Card of the Month
Corporate Phone Card announces this month's winner of the Phone Card of the Month Competition: Ideazon, a global manufacturer and designer of specialized gaming keyboards.
(PRWEB) January 12, 2006 -- Catherine Cavanagh, President of Corporate Phone Cards, a major supplier of custom-designed promotional phone cards, announced today that Ideazon, a Canadian based firm in Ontario, was selected as Phone Card of the Month for January 2006. Ideazon is a global manufacturer and designer of specialized gaming keyboards. Cavanagh stated, “Every month we highlight one of our clients’ custom designed phone cards, based on the attractiveness of the card and/or the unique way the phone cards are being used.”Cavanagh went on to say, “Ideazon won the January 2006 spotlight for the design of their Zboard phone card, which represents their uniquely created keypads for the gaming industry. The selection is also significant as Ideazon is the first Canadian client to be recognized for their phone card design.”When asked what he thought of the Zboard phone card being chosen Phone Card of the Month, Ijaz Jamal, Ideazon’s North American Marketing and Communications Manager, said, “we are absolutely elated. We had separate cards for our American and Canadian customers and retail partners and we were tremendously happy with the outcome in both countries.” Ideazon is going to be targeting consumers identified as hardcore PC gamers and using the phone cards as corporate give-aways at sales meetings as well as promotional items at future trade shows. The Zboard custom phone card is highlighted on each page of the Corporate Phone Cards web site. The card is linked to an internal page, which provides background about Ideazon and Zboard. Visitors are able to hear a short message that plays whenever someone makes a call using the Zboard custom phone card. About Corporate Phone Cards:CorporatePhoneCards.com (CPC) is a full service provider of promotional phone cards serving large and small businesses, schools, non-profit organizations, and local and state governments. Their goal is to help clients achieve recognition or create consumer response by designing attractive, professional, and cost-effective advertisements in a space no larger than a business card.The people at CorporatePhoneCards.com have been designing and producing custom phone cards since 1995. CPC has earned the reputation as an honest and dependable supplier of promotional phone cards. Their client base is comprised of Fortune 500 companies as well as small to mid-sized organizations.
Corporate Prepaid Phone Cards Give Away Promotional Corporate Phone Card Gifts News Update


Corporate Phone Cards Announces Partners in Charity as Phone Card of the Month for the Month of June 2005
Corporate Phone Card announces this month's winner of the Phone Card of the Month Competition: Partners in Charity (PIC). PIC is a non-profit organization headquartered in Illinois that provides down payments to homebuyers nationwide, who are trying to realize the American dream of home ownership.
(PRWEB) July 2, 2005 -- Each month Corporate Phone Cards, a major supplier of custom-designed promotional and retail phone cards, selects one of their clients’ phone cards to be Phone Card of the Month. This month’s selection is Partners in Charity (PIC), a non-profit organization headquartered in Illinois that provides down payments to homebuyers nationwide, who are trying to realize the American dream of home ownership.Charles Konkus, Partners in Charity’s Executive Director, stated, “We’re delighted that our custom phone card was selected as ‘Phone Card of the Month’. Our primary efforts are to notify potential homebuyers of the availability of down-payment grants and this exposure will surely help us in this regard.”Partners in Charity boasts the issuance of over 200,000 down payments to qualified buyers, with grants of 2% to 10% in down payments. In some cases, PIC can even help with closing costs. The good news is that the awards do not have to be paid back.In selecting Partners in Charity as phone card of the month, Catherine M. Cavanagh, President of Corporate Phone Cards, explained that the overall design of the phone card is a factor for selection as well as the unique use of the client’s custom phone cards and/or the organization’s purpose or mission statement. Cavanagh went on to say that CPC was delighted to be able to help “spread the word” about PIC’s efforts in helping people buy a house and stated that, “There are only a few things in life more exciting than buying a home.”The PIC phone card is highlighted on each page of the Corporate Phone Cards web site, with a link to an internal page that provides a full description of the function and purpose of the organization. From there, there’s a link directly to the PIC home page.About Corporate Phone CardsCorporatePhoneCards.com (CPC) is a full service provider of promotional phone cards serving large and small businesses, schools, non-profit organizations, and local and state governments. Their goal is to help clients achieve recognition or create consumer response by designing attractive, professional, and cost-effective advertisements in a space no larger than a business card. The people at CorporatePhoneCards.com have been designing and producing custom phone cards since 1995. CPC has earned the reputation as an honest and dependable supplier of promotional phone cards. Their client base is comprised of Fortune 500 companies as well as small to mid-sized organizations.

Corporate Prepaid Phone Cards Give Away Promotional Corporate Phone Card Gifts News Update


Corporate Phone Cards Selects Artist April Taylor as Custom Phone Card of the Month for November 2005
Corporate Phone Card announces this month's winner of the Phone Card of the Month Competition: April Taylor, a young artist who has just released the song "Hero at Home" under the Plateau Music record label.
(PRWEB) November 9, 2005 -- Each month Corporate Phone Cards, a major supplier of custom-designed promotional and retail phone cards, selects one of their clients’ phone cards to be Phone Card of the Month.Catherine Cavanagh, President of Corporate Phone Cards, announced today that April Taylor’s custom phone card has been selected Phone Card of the Month for November 2005. Cavanagh stated, “Every month we highlight one of our clients’ custom designed phone cards, based on the outstanding design of the card or the unique way the phone cards are being used.”“One look at April’s phone card and we knew we had this month’s winner” said Cavanagh. “Her card is very striking and, printing the name of her title song, 'Hero at Home,' on the phone card made it intriguing. More than the look of the card, however, is the powerful message in the title song and April’s rendition that draws you into the tragic experience of the people left behind when a soldier goes off to war. Phone cards are one of the most cost-effective ways of promoting your cause and I’m happy we are able to work with April Taylor.” When asked about April’s phone card being chosen Phone Card of the Month, Tony Mantor, President of Plateau Music in Nashville, TN, producer of April’s just released 'Hero at Home' CD, said, “After the overwhelming response to the phone card that we have received from the industry and the public, being honored as Phone Card of the Month is the icing on the cake!”Taylor’s custom phone card is currently highlighted on each page of the Corporate Phone Cards web site (http://www.corporatephonecards.com/). In addition, there is a feature page, which provides background about April and her title song, 'Hero at Home.' Visitors are able to hear a short message from April that plays whenever someone makes a call using her custom phone card. In addition, visitors can listen to the title song. April’s spotlight page also provides a link to April’s web site as well as the Plateau Music web site. Thompson Entertainment Group, also of Nashville, was called in to assist in the various components of releasing the CD to the general public, radio stations and other players in the recording industry. Chuck Thompson, President of Thompson Entertainment Group, had this to say when informed about April’s selection as Phone Card of the Month: “A major component of the promotion for 'Hero At Home' revolved around the phone card that was created. We work with companies around the world to create marketing and PR plans for clients and to receive this kind of recognition after working so closely with the Corporate Phone Card team is quite an honor.”About Corporate Phone Cards:CorporatePhoneCards.com (CPC) is a full service provider of promotional phone cards serving large and small businesses, schools, non-profit organizations, and local and state governments. Their goal is to help clients achieve recognition or create consumer response by designing attractive, professional, and cost-effective advertisements in a space no larger than a business card.The people at CorporatePhoneCards.com have been designing and producing custom phone cards since 1995. CPC has earned the reputation as an honest and dependable supplier of promotional phone cards. Their client base is comprised of Fortune 500 companies as well as small to mid-sized organizations

Corporate Prepaid Phone Cards Give Away Promotional Corporate Phone Card Gifts News Update

Corporate Prepaid Phone Cards Give Away Promotional Corporate Phone Card Gifts News Update


Corporate Phone Cards Selects Mountain-Pacific Quality Health Foundation as Phone Card of the Month for the Month of August 2005
Corporate Phone Card announces this month's winner of the Phone Card of the Month Competition: Mountain-Pacific Quality Health Foundation. MPQHF is a non-profit health organization serving residents of Montana, Wyoming and Hawaii in the fight against breast cancer, diabetes, acute myocardial infarction, heart failure and pneumonia.
(PRWEB) August 5, 2005 -- Each month Corporate Phone Cards, a major supplier of custom-designed promotional and retail phone cards, selects one of their clients’ phone cards to be Phone Card of the Month. This month’s selection is Mountain-Pacific Quality Health Foundation (MPQHF), a non-profit health organization serving residents of Montana, Wyoming and Hawaii in the fight against breast cancer, diabetes, acute myocardial infarction, heart failure and pneumonia.“Breast cancer is the second leading cause of death in U.S. women. This phone card and the exposure gained as part of being chosen for Phone Card of the Month allows us to reach out with a vital message that could save lives,” said Peg Donahue, the Foundation’s Director of Corporate Communications. As a quality improvement organization, MPQHF works closely with the hospitals, physicians, nursing homes and home health agencies in their geographic areas to improve medical care for seniors. Their web site provides a wealth of information for their audiences (www.mpqhf.org).In choosing MPQHF custom phone card, Catherine M. Cavanagh, President of Corporate Phone Cards, stated that the organization had the most striking phone card design so far this year. The actual design was a collaboration between CPC and MPQHF and represents the ethnicity of the women MPQHF serves in their effort to reduce the incidence of breast cancer. The 12-minute phone card even won a merit award at the 14th annual national Mature Media Awards Competition, the nation's largest awards program to recognize the best advertising, marketing, and educational materials produced for adults aged 50 and over. According to Cavanagh, “The MPQHF phone card is not only one of the best designed phone cards we have produced, it also represents one of the most challenging health issues of our time and we’re proud that MPQHF chose Corporate Phone Cards as their producer.” The MPQHF phone card is highlighted on each page of the Corporate Phone Cards web site, with a link to an internal page that provides a full description of the function and purpose of the organization. From there, there’s a link directly to the MPQHF home page.About Corporate Phone Cards:CorporatePhoneCards.com (CPC) is a full service provider of promotional phone cards serving large and small businesses, schools, non-profit organizations, and local and state governments. Their goal is to help clients achieve recognition or create consumer response by designing attractive, professional, and cost-effective advertisements in a space no larger than a business card.The people at CorporatePhoneCards.com have been designing and producing custom phone cards since 1995. CPC has earned the reputation as an honest and dependable supplier of promotional phone cards. Their client base is comprised of Fortune 500 companies as well as small to mid-sized organizations.

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Religious prepaid phone cards target U.S. Hispanic international calling card callers

Religious prepaid phone cards target U.S. Hispanic international calling card callers

May 20, 2006, 12:56PMReligious phone cards target U.S. Hispanics
Reuters News Service

-->
MEXICO CITY - Faith knows no limits, even when it comes to long-distance phone calls.
The Catholic Church in Mexico is set to receive a cash bonanza from a U.S. company planning to sell prepaid phone cards with a printed image of the Virgin of Guadalupe, Mexico's most idolized religious symbol.

"We are not selling blessings, we are promoting benefactors," said Mexican Monsignor Diego Monroy Ponce, whose recorded voice will bless customers when they use the $3 and $5 cards to place long-distance or cell-phone calls.
U.S. Starcom, a company that sells disposable prepaid cards to Hispanics in the United States and Canada, will put 25 percent of its profits from the religious phone cards toward the maintenance of a shrine to the Virgin of Guadalupe in Mexico City, visited by millions of pilgrims every year.
"We are blessed with this product," said John Lennon, an executive at U.S. Starcom, which plans an initial distribution of 100,000 phone cards in June to Hispanic grocery stores in Canada and the United States.
Although the messages are prerecorded in Mexico and will be heard by callers far away, they will still be "fresh," said Monroy, who gives Masses at the shrine.
"They are the same prayers I say every day during the service," he said.

Religious prepaid phone cards target U.S. Hispanic international calling card callers

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Grandi Navi Veloci Introduces Broadband and GSM on Cruise-Ferries With New Satellite Service Provided by WINS

MSN launches a poor calling card service.

Microsoft plans low-cost PC for poorer nationsSan Jose Mercury News - CA, USA... resembles how they buy cell phones with prepaid calling plans ... FlexGo machines came with 10 hours of prepaid usage ... go to the store to buy a plastic card with more

Missouri Army National Guard members eager to go to IraqSan Jose Mercury News - CA, USA... The 60 Guard troops also received a care package from private donors including a global mobile phone with prepaid minutes and a calling card

but if you want the story you have to pay. thats why bloggers hate news sites some time....


So on to other news.


Grandi Navi Veloci Introduces Broadband and GSM on Cruise-Ferries With New Satellite Service Provided by WINSMonday May 22, 11:40 am ET
GSM and Broadband Now Available at Sea for Passengers and Crew
GENOA, Italy, May 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Grandi Navi Veloci, a leading company in passenger and goods transport throughout the Mediterranean, and WINS, a joint venture set up by Skylogic Italia (Eutelsat's broadband affiliate) and Maltasat International, today launched a satellite-based communications network on the first two of eight luxury cruise-ferries sailing in the Western Mediterranean.

The new network enables Grandi Navi Veloci to extend GSM telephony and broadband services to passengers and crew at sea. The company's complete fleet of eight GNV cruise-ferries is expected to be equipped before the end of the year.
The new service was officially launched on May 22 in the port of Genoa on La Superba, a Grandi Navi Veloci luxury cruise-ferry which can transport 3,000 passengers, 1,000 cars, 2500 linear metres of trucks. The launch event was attended by Dr. Aldo Grimaldi, President of Grandi Navi Veloci, Giuliano Berretta, CEO of Eutelsat, Arduino Patacchini Chairman of Skylogic Italia and Tony Mejlaq, Chairman of WINS in the presence of Austin Gatt, Malta's Minister for Investment, Industry and Information Technology.
How it works :
The service provided by WINS is based on Skylogic Italia's D-STAR system that uses satellite to provide a two-way high-speed connection between vessels and the Internet backbone via its teleport in Turin. For the GSM service WINS has installed a routing platform at the Turin teleport which connects the local GSM network on board vessels with the global GSM network via Maltasat International's gateway facilities and an agreement with Vodafone Malta. The turnkey package provided by WINS includes procurement, installation and maintenance of networks onboard ships, complete accounting and billing.
The equipment deployed on GNV vessels is made up of a stabilised 1.2 metre antenna which communicates with capacity on Eutelsat's ATLANTIC BIRD(TM) 1 satellite and which is housed in a radome located on the upper deck. The antenna is connected to a modem which interfaces with the on-board Internet network (wired and wireless) and four cellular base stations for the GSM network.
As GNV ships sail from the coast and lose the terrestrial GSM signal, passengers will see a network signal on their mobile phones indicating they can place calls and use SMS via international roaming arrangements. Using VOIP, passengers can also call from cabins and suites with fixed phones as well as from the public phone facility at rates of 1.5EUR a minute. Internet access is available on passengers' individual laptops through a Wi-Fi network and at eight fixed facilities located onboard, at rates of 10 to 20EUR an hour, depending on time of day. Passengers will pay for fixed phone and Internet access using GNV-branded prepaid calling cards at values of 5, 10 and 20EUR or by credit card.
In addition to passenger services the network installed by WINS brings the benefits of remote credit card authorisations for payments and e-mail communication in order to coordinate logistics for goods transport. Grandi Navi Veloci will also use the network for real-time connection of its headquarters in Genoa with the Captain's Bridge in order to streamline supply management logistics and carry-out on land control of the safety system which governs access to cabins with magnetic cards.
"The innovative solution proposed by WINS will enable Grandi Navi Veloci to provide passengers with a satellite-based solution for extending mobile telephony and broadband services at sea," said Dr. Aldo Grimaldi, President of Grandi Navi Veloci. "Real-time remote monitoring and management of our onboard sales will also be an efficient tool for even better service management and optimisation. Through the implementation of these services Grandi Navi Veloci is reconfirming its innovation and technology-oriented strategy and mindset, thus guaranteeing the highest safety standards aboard and putting at passengers' disposal better and more efficient services."
Giuliano Berretta, CEO of Eutelsat added: "Eutelsat is very pleased to see the deployment of the first services by WINS, which harnesses the expertise of Maltasat International and our Skylogic Italia affiliate to address the highly promising markets of broadband access and extension of GSM connectivity at sea. This initiative further diversifies the range of services provided on land, in-flight and at sea by Eutelsat's satellites and sits at the heart of our broadband development strategy. We look forward to further consolidating this association and are delighted to have won the confidence of Grandi Navi Veloci which is distinguished for its high standards of quality, passenger comfort and efficiency."
"At the heart of our service to Grandi Navi Veloci is the capability of WINS to cover the complete definition of the network, including management of satellite capacity, interconnection with the Internet and GSM connectivity. This enables Grandi Navi Veloci to extend its high standards to continued use of mobile phones and broadband services," said Tony Mejlaq, Chairman of WINS. "This first agreement with Grandi Navi Veloci, which sets the pace in its sector, marks an excellent start for WINS."
Press office contacts:
WINS Eutelsat/Skylogic Italia
Tony Mejlaq Vanessa O'Connor, Frédérique Gautier
Tel: +356-2148-8001 Tel: +33-1-53-98-38-88
Mob: +356-7949-8242
mejlaqt@euroweb.net.mt voconnor@eutelsat.fr
http://www.eutelsat.com/ - http://www.skylogic.com/
Grandi Navi Veloci PR Consultants
Annachiara Montefusco
Dragonetti & Montefusco Comunicazione
Tel. +39-02-4802-2325
montefusco@dragonettiassociati.com
http://www.gnv.it/

Advanced future Voice-over-IP Technology Updates the Future Mobile VoIP Cell Phone Calling Card Plans

Advanced future Voice-over-IP Technology Updates the Future Mobile VoIP Cell Phone Calling Card Plans

VoIP: Technology for the future

Voice-over-IP is one of the most exciting technologies out there today. VoIP is expanding rapidly across the globe and many service providers such as Vonage have already started to harvest their rewards for being early adopters of this amazing technology.
While voice-over-IP is already spreading rapidly in homes and enterprises, Reuters reports that there also will be 100 million users of mobile VoIP by 2011. These finding show that there will be a huge opportunity for companies which decide to invest their resources in VoIP. This is also good news for consumers. As more phone companies adopt this technology, the prices start to drop due to the concept of “learning and experience curve.” Therefore, consumers can expect to save as much as 50% savings on their phone bills.
The calling card market will also be affected by this technology. The service providers in this market can expect to lower their costs and bring those savings to their customers.

To read more about this technology, please refer to:
http://www.techweb.com/headlines_week/showArticle.jhtml?articleId=188101642

Advanced future Voice-over-IP Technology Updates the Future Mobile VoIP Cell Phone Calling Card Plans

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Tricky Prepaid Phone Card Fraud and ways to get a truelly cheap prepaid calling card online

Tricky Prepaid Phone Card Fraud and ways to get a truelly cheap prepaid calling card online

Protect Yourself From Phone-Card Fraud
The Traveler is its most Lucrative Victim! By Larry Benedict
Electronic crime in many forms has recently swept the globe. Business and pleasure travelers find it almost impossible to stay informed of the latest crooked electronic schemes.
To learn more about the area of Phone-Card fraud we contacted Kevin Coffey, a 14 year veteran of one of the nations largest police forces. He had initiated his department's tourist-crime detail and has investigated thousands of crimes committed against travelers. What follows are some of his comments and suggestions for travelers who are concerned about phone-card and other forms of electronic fraud.
Coffey:"It has been estimated that over 90% of phone card theft occurs at airports, hotels and train stations. I have personally arrested some of the thousands of criminals who engage in this activity, particularly those using the system known as shoulder surfing."
How can a traveler protect their pin when using a public phone?"You must always remain aware when you are about to use your pin number. A common practice engaged in by criminals is to stand on a mezzanine and observe the bank of phones through binoculars. (This is still shoulder surfing, peering over an unsuspecting shoulder, it just happens at a distance). Be aware of these vantage points and protect yourself from them.
Phone card fraud is very seldom prosecuted with the diligence it should be, police departments must concentrate on violent crime. It is frustrating to note that most of this crime is punished as a minor offense so there is little incentive for the criminal to abstain from this lucrative pastime."
Could prepaid calling cards be a solution?"These cards certainly eliminate the risk of large scale phone-fraud but are usually too expensive for the consumer to use on a regular basis. Additionally, most business travelers are already burdened with too many cards and pre-paid phone cards would simply add to the collection." After listening to Mr. Coffey's useful comments, we went on to investigate the subject further.
Is something being done by the phone companies to protect the traveler?The phone companies have eliminated the old procedure of canceling a card outright, which used to immediately render a cardholder incommunicado. Today they invalidate only the International calling ability of a stolen number, leaving its local function intact. This is definitely a step in the right direction. Most recent methods of combating phone-card fraud are based on high Tech solutions such as computer scanning of abnormal calling patterns and voice printing; where the customer must enter a vocal password along with their pin number. When either of the above tests detect a discrepency, the call is routed to a live operator whose presence usually causes the criminal to hang up and depart. As our electronic communications become more sophisticated, the opportunity for fraud will be decreased but history has shown that some enterprising outlaw will always take up the challenge.
What can I do to protect myself?Phone companies will tell you that the best offense is still a good defense. Be sure to observe those around you before you call and don't be shy about covering the keypad, not doing so can be as foolish as not locking your car. Be aware of the opportunity afforded by those mezzanines - some criminals use video cameras with zoom lenses to record your numbers from a distance as you type them in. Memorize your pin so you don't have to display your card openly. Avoid saying your number out loud and stay away from open areas particularly those with crowded banks of phones. These days, even having your international calling ability interrupted for a brief period can be a debilitating experience and an ounce of precaution will save a pound of annoyance.
Kevin Coffey has formed his own company, Corporate Travel Safety and travels across the country conducting travel safety seminars for business travelers . For further info - Corporate Travel Safety - (818) 225-1191. E-Mail StopThief@aol.com


Tricky Prepaid Phone Card Fraud and ways to get a truelly cheap prepaid calling card online

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avoid prepaid calling card scams online with great prepaid calling card tips to get a quality phone card deal!

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Perspective: Hang up on prepaid calling card scams
By Brian Livingston
Published: August 25, 2000, 4:00 AM PDT
Long-distance rates as low as 3 cents per minute are advertised for prepaid calling cards sold at convenience stores and on the Internet. But many of these offers are so bogus that the cards might actually be considered a form of gambling.
The problem has become so bad that ABellTolls.com, a Web site that rates telephone pricing offers, refuses to list any prepaid calling cards at all.
"There is really a big difference between the prepaid and billable calling card industry," Marc-David Seidel, co-founder of A Bell Tolls, said in an interview. "Those prepaid cards can be a really risky path."
Billable calling cards don't charge customers for long-distance calls until after those calls are actually made. Prepaid calling cards, by contrast, require payment in advance for blocks of time.
Buyers often don't learn until too late that prepaid cards add a "connection charge." This charge may be as high as several dollars for each call.
In one of the first crackdowns on prepaid calling card scams, New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer announced on July 26 a legal settlement with Televend, a Whitesboro, N.Y., company.
According to Spitzer, Televend sold prepaid calling cards from vending machines with large signs that advertised rates as low as 3.9 cents per minute.
"It was not disclosed, or it was disclosed in extremely fine print or on hard-to-read signs, that there were other fees and connection charges that greatly increased the price of a call," Spitzer said in a statement.
In the settlement, Televend agreed to pay $4,000 for public-service advertisements warning consumers about prepaid calling cards.
Even worse than cards with high fees, however, are companies that repeatedly shut down and open under new names after selling blocks of time to numerous customers.
"Many fly-by-night operations open up with flimsy financing, sell a bunch of their cards, and then stop paying the underlying (telephone) carrier," Seidel said. "The underlying carrier, which frequently is a large, well-known company, then cuts off the fly-by-night operation, thus stranding all of the consumers that had purchased the cards."
Prepaid calling cards' popularity has grown enormously since the United States deregulated the long-distance industry.
In 1995, sales of prepaid cards totaled $750 million, according to Consumer Action, a public-interest group in San Francisco.
By 1999, prepaid calling cards were an industry with an estimated $4 billion in sales.
Only 10 U.S. states have adopted or are considering disclosure requirements, Consumer Action says. "Fees and monthly charges show up only in very fine print, or not at all if there is no state disclosure requirement," the group said in a statement.
It's often necessary to make long-distance calls from a phone away from your home or office. So how do you protect yourself against prepaid calling card scams?
A Bell Tolls recommends that you consider using a billable card that you don't have to prepay.
The site's rankings show many legitimate calling card offers with interstate rates as low as 5.1 cents per minute. Seidel says the ratings are objective, although A Bell Tolls does receive a fee from some companies for referrals from its Web site.
At the top of the ratings is the AccuLinq card from Cognigen Networks. Interstate calls are 5.1 cents per minute from major cities in Texas and Colorado, and 9.2 cents elsewhere, including taxes. The cost is 30 cents extra for each call made from a pay phone--a surcharge required by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission. The company charges no connection fee per call, but requires a minimum payment of $1 per month.
Another company, Univance, serves customers in most of the United States for 6.35 cents per minute. In addition to the standard pay-phone surcharge, Univance has a connection fee of 25 cents per call and a minimum payment of $1.06 per month.
Carefully choosing your calling card now can prevent big surprises on your telephone bill later.
Consumer advocate Brian Livingston appears at CNET News.com every Friday. Do you know of a problem affecting consumers? Send info to tips@BrianLivingston.com . He'll send you a book of high-tech secrets free if you're the first to submit a tip he prints.
BiographyBrian Livingston has published 10 books, including "Windows 2000 Secrets" and "Windows Me Secrets." He has been a contributing editor at PC World, Windows Magazine, InfoWorld and other magazines for more than 10 years. Before his work as an author, Livingston was a management consultant advising financial institutions on computer technologies. In 1991, he received the Award for Technical Excellence from the National Microcomputer Managers Association for his efforts to develop standards in the computer industry.

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Skype Launches SkypeOut System to boosts its free voip international long distance calling plan.

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Skype Launches SkypeOut System to boosts its free voip international long distance calling plan

Skype is going all out to strengthen its position in its market. Skype has always tried to stay competitive in a rather intense market. But, now by offering the SkypeOut system, Skype users can call anywhere in America or Canada for free. Previously, users of the downloadable peer-to-peer voice service had to purchase credit to make calls to non-Skype users. However, the new free SkypeOut service trumps even similar VoIP applications.Skype traditionally has had greater user adoption in Europe. Most domestic users of VoIP services tend to gravitate toward ISP branded services. The free service strategy is a gusty move by Skype to capture more users and eventually transform them to paying customers. In addition, by pursuing this strategy, the competition will be under a severe pressure to keep up with Skype. By offering the SkypeOut service, Skype is trying to build its user base so that, in addition to levying fees for some add-on services, it could sell advertising on its Web site or even at the beginning of phone calls.
To read more about Skype’s strategy, please refer to the following http://www.voip-news.com/news/skype-free-051506/

Skype Launches SkypeOut System to boosts its free voip international long distance calling plan

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Primus Prepaid Calling Card News

Primus Prepaid Calling Card News

PRIMUS Telecommunications Launches ''Global Managed Prepaid Platform Services''MCLEAN, Va., May 05, 2006 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- PRIMUS Telecommunications Group, Incorporated (NASDAQ:PRTL), one of the world's ten largest carriers of international voice traffic, announced today the launch of its "Global Managed Prepaid Platform Services" targeted for carriers and distributors of prepaid card services around the world

The unique new service is a product of leveraging the global TDM, VOIP and prepaid calling card infrastructure owned and operated by PRIMUS with its extensive experience in providing wholesale carrier services and managing retail prepaid card services."Our new service is primarily designed to provide any telecom operator or prepaid card distributor a 'one-stop shopping' packaged solution that allows accelerated entry into the prepaid card market without any up-front capital expenditures and without the need to set up a large operational organization," said Stephen McIntyre, who now leads PRIMUS's combined wholesale and prepaid card divisions as its President. "Riding on PRIMUS's global network, customers of the new service will have the ability to enter markets worldwide and have the benefit of built-in scalability for their business."Another hallmark of the new service is its flexibility. "With our networks and systems in place, we can launch a customer's new service quickly," McIntyre added. "Customers will also have the choice of selecting from the range of support services PRIMUS can provide: multiple access types (Toll Free, Local Access, ITFS); service based on 'Pins' or CLI recognition/Pinless; partial to full management of their partition within the platform; access and termination for calls or 'transport' calls back to the wholesale customer to terminate the calls themselves. In short, the customer decides which services it wants PRIMUS to provide in order to make them successful in the marketplace."PRIMUS Telecommunications Group, Incorporated (NASDAQ:PRTL) is an integrated communications services provider offering international and domestic voice, voice-over-Internet protocol (VOIP), Internet, wireless, data and hosting services to business and residential retail customers and other carriers located primarily in the United States, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom and western Europe. PRIMUS provides services over its global network of owned and leased transmission facilities, including approximately 350 points-of-presence (POPs) throughout the world, ownership interests in undersea fiber optic cable systems, 16 carrier-grade international gateway and domestic switches, and a variety of operating relationships that allow it to deliver traffic worldwide. Founded in 1994, PRIMUS is based in McLean, Virginia.SOURCE: PRIMUS Telecommunications Group, Incorporated

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Western Union Prepaid PHone Cards Partners with IDT Prepaid Calling Cards

Western Union Prepaid PHone Cards Partners with IDT Prepaid Calling Cards

Western Union Selects IDT as the Preferred Partner in Asia to Launch its '' Instant Phone Time'' Loyalty Program
NEWARK, N.J. & HONG KONG--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 10, 2006--

The Global Leader in Money Transfer Services leverages IDT's Customized Calling Card Solution to Provide an Attractive Value-Added Feature to Its Loyalty Program

IDT Corporation today announced that it has been chosen as the preferred partner for Western Union's "Instant Phone Time" loyalty program in Hong Kong. Western Union is the global leader in money transfer services. IDT Corporation (NYSE: IDT, IDT.C) is an international telecom, entertainment and technology company.
The "Instant Phone Time" loyalty program rewards frequent Western Union customers with free international phone calls through IDT's advanced calling card platform. Holders of the Western Union Gold Card," a loyalty program for regular Western Union customers, are instantly awarded free call credit whenever they transfer money to designated locations. Card holders can then make international calls using a unique pin number provided by IDT. Calls may be placed to virtually any country over IDT's extensive regional and global network.
"By utilizing IDT's advanced technological platform we are able instantly to provide loyal customers with free high quality overseas call services. Our customers expect a fast, reliable and global money transfer service and we want to uphold the same standards with our Instant Phone Time reward program, "said Isabella Lau, General Manager of Western Union in Hong Kong. "IDT is one of the largest global telecommunications providers and we are confident that their commitment to reliability and quality will enable us to deliver the best possible experience for our customers."
Currently IDT sells on average more than 33 million calling cards globally every month. In fiscal 2005 the company terminated more than 24 billion international minutes to customers worldwide.
IDT Asia offers customers throughout Asia the benefits of buying telecommunications services from a global leader with the same reliability, quality, trust and assurance that millions of customers elsewhere in the world have come to enjoy.
"IDT is committed to providing innovative and unique calling solutions that meet the needs of consumers in Asia and in other locations around the world," said Chip Barton, Managing Director of IDT Asia Pacific. "This alliance with Western Union illustrates how IDT works with our Asia partners in delivering unique value-added services to the marketplace."
More Western Union customers stand to benefit in the near future with discussions underway to extend the Instant Phone Time loyalty program to other countries in the Asia Pacific region.
* Terms & conditions apply. Please contact Western Union for details.
About Western Union Financial Services, Inc. and First Data
First Data Corp. (NYSE: FDC) is a leading provider of electronic commerce and payment solutions for businesses and consumers worldwide. Serving 4.6 million merchant locations, 1,500 financial institutions and millions of consumers, First Data powers the global economy by making it easy, fast and secure for people and businesses around the world to buy goods and services using virtually any form of payment.
The company's portfolio of services and solutions includes credit, debit, private-label, gift and other prepaid card issuing and merchant transaction processing services; money transfer services; money orders; fraud protection and authentication solutions; check guarantee and verification services through TeleCheck; as well as Internet commerce and mobile solutions. Western Union, together with Orlandi Valuta and Vigo, make up one of the world's largest money transfer networks with more than 271,000 Agent locations in more than 200 countries and territories.
The company's STAR Network offers PIN-secured debit acceptance at 1.9 million ATM and retail locations. For more information, visit www.firstdata.com.
About IDT Asia
IDT Asia is a division of IDT Telecom - a wholly owned subsidiary of IDT Corporation, a leading international telecom, entertainment and technology company. IDT's listing on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE:IDT, IDT.C) confirms its status as one of the industry's premier long distance providers, and underlines its financial strength and staying power.
IDT Asia was formed in 2003. The regional headquarters are in Hong Kong, with branch offices throughout the Asia Pacific region. IDT Asia concentrates its expertise in two main product areas: retail telecommunications services and wholesale carrier services.
Issued on behalf of IDT Asia by Edelman PR


Western Union Prepaid PHone Cards Partners with IDT Prepaid Calling Cards
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prepaid phone card lawsuit

prepaid phone card lawsuit

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- BellSouth Corp. (BLS) said the company and merger partner AT&T Inc. (T) agreed in April to stay a lawsuit related to unpaid access charges associated with AT&T's prepaid calling cards and its "IP in the middle" services that use Internet protocol technology.
As reported in previous filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Atlanta telecommunications and broadband services provider filed a lawsuit against AT&T in May 2005 to recover some access charges. The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia.
BellSouth said in its quarterly report filed Thursday with the SEC that the lawsuit will be stayed until the earlier of 12 months or the completion or termination of the merger agreement between the company and AT&T.
In March, BellSouth and AT&T announced plans for AT&T to acquire BellSouth. BellSouth shareholders will receive 1.325 shares of AT&T common stock for each BellSouth common share.
According to previous SEC filings, BellSouth's lawsuit against AT&T followed two separate rulings by the Federal Communications Commission, one in April 2004 concerning "IP in the middle" services and one in February 2005 concerning prepaid card services, that each service was a telecommunications service subject to access charges.
AT&T estimated in securities filings that it had "saved" $340 million in access charges on its prepaid card services and $250 million in access charges on its "IP in the middle" services.
BellSouth said it believes some of the improperly avoided access charges should have been paid to BellSouth for the use of its network.
The company said AT&T appealed the FCC's decision related to prepaid card services to Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, which has heard oral argument but hasn't issued a decision.
BellSouth said if the lawsuit in Georgia progresses, it expects to obtain information from AT&T and other sources that will determine the amount of BellSouth access charges that AT&T avoided.
The company's shares closed Wednesday at $33.63 each, while AT&T's shares closed at $25.99 each

prepaid phone card lawsuit

korea prepaid phone cards get a boost with korea travel cards

korea prepaid phone cards get a boost with korea travel cards

See Korea to your advantage with the Korea Travel CardTuesday, May 09, 2006

Travelling in Korea has never been easier for visitors who take full advantage of the Korea Travel Card (KTC) which alleviates the need for cash while travelling in Korea.
Celadon Pottery Shopping in Seoul
By using the KTC tourists don’t need to worry about currency exchange and can use the card for shopping or paying for accommodation, dining or sightseeing while travelling in Korea.The KTC is accepted in almost three million credit card member stores. There are also benefits for visitors including up to 90% discount on domestic and international calls, free travel insurance, preferential currency exchange rates and additional discounts at special discount member stores, and much more.The card allows visitors to purchase theatre tickets up to 10% off at certain theatres like Nanta and Tokebi Storm and the Chongdong Theatre, all shows with a Korean flavour which are popular with foreign visitors. Discounts are also available at KTO Duty Free Stores.The KTC can be purchased in amounts of W100,000, W200,000, W300,000 and W500,000. The card can only be purchased in Korea at Shinhan bank locations, Chohung Bank, Jeju Bank or the tourist information centre in the Korea Tourism Organization Seoul headquarters.Some tourist attractions on Jeju Island offer up to 40% off the normal entrance fees.While on Jeju Island you can visit the Folk Village Museum, Jeju Love Land, Happy Town, Hot Air Balloon Theme Park and a host of other unique attractions at special discount rates.Aside from the Travel Card there is the KTC transportation pass which is a multipurpose card with all the standard features of the Korea Travel Card with the additional feature of using the card as a transportation pass as well.For travelers visting Seoul who enjoy a spot of gambling the KTC Seven Luck Card will be useful. The Seven Luck Card is an electronic gift certificate which is prepaid and multifunctional including the function of a calling card. With discounts available at affiliated stores such as Lotte Department store, you can also use the card to exchange your lucky mileage points for a KTC Seven Luck Card, which can be accumulated whenever you visit Seven Luck Casino.
For more information on the Korea Travel Card, KTC Transportation Pass and KTC seven Luck Card visit the official Korea Tourism Organization website.
korea prepaid phone cards get a boost with korea travel cards
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American Military Calling Cards getts a booth with 'Cell Phones for Soldiers'

American Military Calling Cards getts a booth with 'Cell Phones for Soldiers'

America Supports You: 'Cell Phones for Soldiers' Gets Boost
By Samantha L. Quigley
American Forces Press Service


WASHINGTON, May 10, 2006 – The police athletic leagues of Fort Pierce and Port St. Lucie, Fla., have teamed with America Supports You member organization "Cell Phones for Soldiers" to help servicemembers and their families stay connected.

America Supports You members Brittany Bergquist (left) and her brother, Robbie, recently spent three days aboard the USS Cape St. George at sea. They were invited by Capt. James Yohe (center) as a thank you for providing a calling card to each person aboard the ship. Courtesy photo (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available.

The PALs create and fund programs for youngsters considered "at risk," with the goal of instilling in them good citizenship and sportsmanship. America Supports You is a Defense Department program to spotlight efforts by everyday Americans and the corporate sector to support the nation's servicemembers.

PAL spokesman Garry Schwartz said the effort to help servicemembers goes right along with the PAL mission. "These are American boys and girls," he said. "We want them to have all the contact they can possibly have with their family."

Schwartz, a Port St. Lucie resident, contacted Massachusetts-based Cell Phones for Soldiers in January with an offer of support. The nonprofit organization collects cell phones for recycling. The monetary value of these recycled phones pays for prepaid calling cards that the founders, siblings Brittany and Robbie Bergquist, 15 and 14 years old, respectively, provide to servicemembers supporting operations overseas.

So far, Schwartz, a one-time member of the Fort Pierce Police Athletic League board of directors, has involved the Fort Pierce and Port St. Lucie PALs in the drive to support the Bergquists' organization. He resigned his PAL position to focus more time on supporting Cell Phones for Soldiers.

Brittany said her family has discovered there are "caring Americans across the country who truly care about the well-being of soldiers." But they also know it takes a special person to tackle an undertaking like the one in Florida.

"Mr. Schwartz has been an amazing, tireless worker for the troops," Brittany said. "Cell Phones for Soldiers offers an opportunity for people to help, but it takes someone like Mr. Schwartz to actually do something."

Keeping servicemembers connected is a bit of a personal quest for him, Schwartz said. A former Army Green Beret and Vietnam veteran, he blamed the lack of communication while he was deployed for the dissolution of his marriage.

"I was a newlywed when I went to Vietnam, and a divorcee shortly after I got back," he said. He and his bride communicated only during the one week of rest-and-recuperation leave he received during the year he was deployed.

"We didn't have means to communicate like the soldiers & today," Schwartz said. "Consequently, I want to help whenever possible."

Throughout April, collection pails were enthusiastically welcomed at 14 Harbor Federal Bank branches, five police substations, the Port St. Lucie's city hall and the Fort Pierce PAL Thrift Store. Some locations are in neighboring Martin County.

Schwartz, in conjunction with the two police athletic leagues, has already collected about 10 computer-paper-sized boxes of cell phones ready to ship to the recyclers. More are sure to follow, as other Florida police athletic leagues, as well as a state university, have expressed interest in getting involved.

While visiting his mother, who works at University of Miami's law school, Schwartz had the opportunity to explain Cell Phones for Soldiers to a university official. The idea was met with enthusiasm, and there are plans in the works to place collection pails around campus in the fall, he said.

That will mean even more phone cards for servicemembers overseas. "We have supplied approximately 80,000 prepaid calling cards for the troops," Robbie said, adding that every two phones is enough, on average, to buy one hour of talk time for another servicemember.

"I have so much respect for Brittany and Robbie, and the efforts they have made," Schwartz said. "I know there are so many (servicemembers) who are going to be grateful to them eternally for what they have done."



Related Sites:
Cell Phones for Soldiers
National Association of Police Athletic Leagues
America Supports You

The Fort Pierce and Port St. Lucie, Fla., police athletic leagues, spearheaded by Gary Schwartz, far right, have been collecting cell phones in support of Massachusetts-based Cell Phones for Soldiers. Participating in the effort are, from left, Paul Pearson, Fort Pierce police athletic league master officer; Capt. Danny Robinson, Army recruiting company commander; Staff Sgt. Brian Primmer, Army recruiter; Mary Rose Cuoco, Harbor Federal Bank branch manager; Tim Reilly, Port St. Lucie police athletic league master officer; and Port St. Lucie Officer Staff Sgt. Frank Sabol. PAL participants Tiffany Mathews (kneeling, left) and Ashley Owens also pitched in. Courtesy photo

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New China Prepaid Calling Card Signs Prepaid Phone Card Agreement With Leading Chinese Distributor

New China Prepaid Calling Card Signs Prepaid Phone Card Agreement With Leading Chinese Distributor

Dynasty Gaming Advances China Strategy; Signs Prepaid Card Agreement With Leading Chinese Distributor
MONTREAL -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 05/15/2006 -- Dynasty Gaming Inc. (TSX-V: DNY) today announced a major advance in the roll-out of its China market strategy by signing a letter of intent with Beijing Junnet Union Science and Technology Limited Company ("Junnet") covering the promotion, marketing and distribution of Mahjong prepaid cards in China. Prepaid cards, similar to telephone calling cards, are widely used by people in China for accessing and playing various online sports and casual games with opportunities for winning reward points redeemable for prizes. It is estimated that prepaid card sales in China total Yuan 4.5 billion or approximately C$640 million annually.
Junnet is China's largest distributor of prepaid cards, accounting for approximately 20% of the country's estimated annual market for prepaid cards. Junnet operates 13 branches across the country and provides over 76,000 distribution outlets, including 70,000 Internet cafes. More than 20 million people spend time in these cafes each and every day, giving rise to millions of prepaid card transactions.
"Our involvement with Junnet represents a giant step forward as a means of accessing the world's largest and fastest growing Internet marketplace and creating a first-to-market footprint for our online Mahjong gaming product in a country where mahjong is acknowledged as China's national sport," said Dynasty's Chief Executive, Albert Barbusci. "Junnet is widely known and recognized as a distributor of quality prepaid cards through retail kiosks and Internet cafes. Its J-cards, which are currently marketed for around 30 different online games, are re-loadable online and the Company's wide network of promotional websites represents a powerful and effective marketing forum."
It is envisaged that Dynasty will sell quantities of cards directly to Junnet, which in turn, will sell them to sub-agents at each of its distribution points. Each card will contain a pin number and credit for a fixed number of Mahjong games. After all of the game credit has been drawn down, players may either re-load their existing card online or purchase a new card. Retail pricing for the cards will be determined only after Junnet completes market testing over the next three months.
Junnet has strong relationships with many of China's leading sports and casual gaming operators and over the next few months Junnet will secure sites on which Dynasty's Mahjong Mania software will be installed and market-tested through the use of selectively distributed prepaid cards. Junnet and Dynasty are optimistic that retailing of the cards can begin in the final quarter of this year.
The TSX Venture Exchange has in no way passed upon the merits of the proposed transaction and has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this news release.
Forward-looking Statements
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements with respect to the Corporation. These forward-looking statements, by their nature, involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated. We consider the assumptions on which these forward-looking statements are based to be reasonable, but caution the reader that these assumptions regarding future events, many of which are beyond our control, may ultimately prove to be incorrect.
About Dynasty Gaming Inc.
Dynasty Gaming Inc. is solidifying a two-phased strategy to secure a lead position in the Chinese market and within the international online gaming sector with its first-to-market software for an aggregate player, cash wager version of Mahjong, the world's most played game. Through its wholly owned subsidiaries, the company develops, markets, licenses and supports the Mahjong Mania software. Since marketing began in the second half of 2005, a number of license agreements have been signed including a contract with Ladbrokes, the world's largest online sports book (www.Ladbrokes.com) whose site now hosts a customized version of Mahjong Mania. Dynasty has also signed Golden Palace one of the largest on-line casinos operators. Dynasty Gaming's 77.2 million common shares, issued and outstanding, are widely held by Canadian and U.S. investors. Full information on Dynasty Gaming can be found at www.dynastygaming.com.

For Additional Information Contact:
Albert Barbusci
CEO
Dynasty Gaming Inc.
(514) 288-0900 Ext. 224
Thomas Walsh
Alliance Advisors, LLC
(646) 415-8321
SOURCE: Dynasty Gaming

New China Prepaid Calling Card Signs Prepaid Phone Card Agreement With Leading Chinese Distributor

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Major North American Prepaid Calling Card Provider News

Major North American Prepaid Calling Card Provider News

Verso Selected by Major North American Calling Card Provider to Deploy the I-Master(R) Solution
Atlanta -
ATLANTA -- Verso Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: VRSO), a global provider of next generation network solutions, today announced that it has been selected by a major North American service provider to deploy a $2.2 million prepaid solution. The first phase will be deployed by June 1, 2006, and will be completely operational by early 2007.
Verso's prepaid solution, which includes the I-Master Application Server and prepaid application, will be deployed to facilitate the customer's execution on its strategic business plan to expand growth and dominance in the prepaid sector. The I-Master Application Server provides software-based IVR support and interoperability with any standards-compliant next generation network (NGN) softswitch platform while the associated prepaid application provides interactive, real-time rating and billing schemes for managing prepaid and post paid services.
The solution provides the customer the ability to leverage flexible rating features and enhanced personalization attributes to gain market share in the competitive prepaid market. In addition, the solution enables the bundling of voice and data services which will extend the customer's reach into additional markets and further expand revenue opportunities.
The Verso prepaid solution will provide: a significant ROI based on new revenue generating features; significant savings in operational and administrative costs when compared to existing legacy TDM equipment; an 80 percent reduction in collocation space and power expenses; reduced cost and time to implement interconnection; and increased market share due to the ability to bundle services and offer end users a personalized experience to increase loyalty.
"The customer is executing a strategic business and marketing plan which will create short-term and long-term business growth, and our platform serves as the foundation for that growth," said Allen Draa, vice president, I-Master product sales, Verso Technologies.
"After carefully evaluating competing technologies for six months, the customer selected Verso's prepaid solution, as it provided the greatest flexibility and the greatest number of features most closely aligned with the customer's future growth plans," he added.
About Verso Technologies Verso is a global provider of Next Generation Network solutions offering a core-to-edge product portfolio primarily for telecommunications service providers. The company's products enable its customers to secure and optimize network bandwidth, generate additional revenue and reduce costs. Verso's applications and services are cost effective, deploy quickly and provide a superior return on investment. For more information, contact Verso at http://www.verso.com/ or call 678.589.3500.

Major North American Prepaid Calling Card Provider News

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Jamaica Phone Cards from Jamaica Telecom Providers

Jamaica Phone Cards from Jamaica Telecom Providers

His phone cards speak volumes
(South Florida Sun-Sentinel (KRT) Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) May 15--Growing up in Jamaica with his grandmother, Michael Dawson recalls how much he looked forward to phone calls from his mom, who worked as a nurse in New York.When attending college in Miami, he remembers awaiting the weekly call from his fiancee, who worked on cruise ships plying the Caribbean.Those early experiences led Dawson to build a business for Jamaicans often separated from their loved ones -- People's Telecom Jamaica Ltd. The company, known for its competitive rates, recently won an entrepreneurship award from the Jamaica-USA Chamber of Commerce in South Florida.


People's Telecom offers a range of services, wholesale and retail. But it is perhaps best known for prepaid calling cards that feature the voice of Jamaica's revered actor, Oliver Samuels. Callers can choose two options for prompts on the calling cards: Samuels speaking standard English or Jamaican patois."It took us six months to be the first -- and so far only one -- to offer Inter-Active Voice Response in patois, because no software was written for that," Dawson said. "You can get English, French, Spanish and other languages but not patois. So, we spent nights and nights programming with engineers to manipulate the software."Buyers such as Reicland Anderson of Pembroke Pines like the Jamaican cultural touch on a card that offers economical prices with minutes that don't expire quickly.The entrepreneurial Dawson, whose grandmother was a market vendor and uncle a wholesaler, entered the telecom industry as a sideline.While studying business at the University of Miami, he seethed that calls to neighboring Jamaica cost $2 for several minutes -- a fortune for a youth earning $4.85 an hour on work-study shifts. He scoured the market for discount phone cards and soon began selling them to others.After graduating, with his fiancee calling from Caribbean ports, Dawson went full-time into peddling phone cards.But his big break came after 2001, when Jamaica opened its telecom market to competition, ending the monopoly of England's Cable & Wireless Ltd. When international long-distance service opened up, Dawson jumped in, espousing the motto: "With faith, courage and just cause, David can still conquer Goliath."People's Telecom launched in Kingston in 2003, selling wholesale minutes to big telecom companies. More recently, it added its own calling cards, opened a South Florida office and started operations in Canada -- areas with big Jamaican communities.But Dawson's next venture may be his most ambitious. The 33-year-old plans to start a network using low-cost Voice over Internet technology and to offer subscribers unlimited calls on the system for about $10 a month."So, say there's a mother in Kingston, kids in London and an aunt in New York," he said. "You dial an extension, and as long as you have broadband, everyone talks to each other."Doreen Hemlock can be reached at dhemlock@sun-sentinel.com or 305-810-5009.

Jamaica Phone Cards from Jamaica Telecom Providers

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Telecom Charity Fundraiser upset with amount of charity phone card donation for Dancing with Stars Cast a Vote Fundraiser

Telecom Charity Fundraiser upset with amount of charity phone card donation for Dancing with Stars Cast a Vote Fundraiser

Charity rejects criticism of Telecom
11/05/2006 7:52:02
The Multiple Sclerosis Society is disappointed that one of its board members has criticised Telecom for the amount of money it gains from Dancing with the Stars donations.
It costs $1 to cast a vote on the hit show and board member Brian Stevens has expressed disappointment that Telecom keeps 40 cents of that. The remainder goes to a charity of the dancer's choice.
Society president Gay Dickie says Mr Stevens was not speaking on behalf of the board. She says the board did discuss the issue, but the society is delighted to have benefited from the support of Telecom and the show.
Ms Dickie says the society did very well out of the show last year and that helped many MS sufferers across the country.

Telecom Charity Fundraiser upset with amount of charity phone card donation for Dancing with Stars Cast a Vote Fundraiser

Comments what do you think of .60 cents?

CleverCalling.com Partners with Pingo’s Instant Prepaid Phone Card USA Service.

CleverCalling.com, today announced that it has been selected and approved to join Pingo prepaid phone card affiliate program. Pingo provides a great solution in helping its customers reduce there instant prepaid phone card USA rates with an easy to use virtual calling card phone service. Through this phone card affiliate marketing partnership, Clever Calling will be able to offer our customers a great instant phone card service that can save mobile cell phone users up to 90% on there International calls with Pingo. In addition, Clever Calling will be able to offer special Pingo coupon codes to help save our website visitors even more on there long distance instant prepaid phone card USA rates.

About CleverCalling.com

CleverCalling.com is a Voip International Prepaid Calling Card News Blog. This telecom blog provides news on voip International phone cards and ways to save on long distance prepaid phone card rates. It’s all about what prepaid phone card customers are looking for from prepaid phone card tips to prepaid calling card scams to avoid. CleverCalling provides positive phone card stories about military phone card donations to hospital phone cards from charity phone card organizations. Telecom blog away at http://www.clevercalling.com/blog/

About PingoPingo offers its instant prepaid phone card consumers in 35 countries high quality long distance service on a prepaid basis. Pingo customers save on calls to and from both landline and mobile phones. Mobile phone users in particular can save as much as 90% on international prepaid calling card calls by using Pingo’s toll-free access and lower rates on International instant prepaid phone card USA calls. Minutes can be purchased using credit cards, debit cards, and now with PayPal at www.pingo.com. New global phone card customers begin saving immediately with a sign-up bonus of $5 worth of free calling and can receive additional $5 credits by successfully referring their friends to the Pingo’s International prepaid calling card business. Pingo can also be used to save on calls from 34 countries outside the U.S., including Canada, Japan, Germany, Mexico, Russia, and the U.K.

About Pingo Prepaid Phone Card Affiliate Program

Pingo launched is prepaid phone card affiliate program in January 2006. Pingo partnered with Linkshare, an industry leading affiliate marketing network. Pingo is dedicated to working with its calling card affiliates and has built a web site (www.SuperAffiliateBluePrint.com) that provides affiliate marketing tips to trends. The phone card affiliate program web site was built to provide free affiliate marketing tools and tips needed to becoming a super affiliate marketing professional.

CleverCalling.com launches $10 free prepaid phone card call promotion to reduce Fathers Day collect calls

CleverCalling.com today, announced that it has partnered with a leading International prepaid phone card company to provide its site visitors with $10 of free prepaid phone card calls in an effort to reduce the number one day in the US, for the most collect calls. According to a study AT&T did, Fathers Day ranked as the number one day in the year when the most collect calls are made. Yet, an estimated $1 Billion is spent each year in the US for Father's Day. This might explain how that talking fish you got your father or singing tie sold millions from your cheap father day gifts. But a billion dollars, now that’s a lot of cheap father day gifts. Clever Calling hopes you will use this special phone card coupon code that will entitle you to $10 in free prepaid phone card calls. This cheap prepaid phone card deal will expire on June 22nd.

It will be interesting to see if this father day will keep its title as the number one day in America for call collect. But if your nice to pops this year, you’ll find a cheap prepaid phone card deal to save your dad some money this Fathers Day.


About CleverCalling.com

CleverCalling.com is a Voip International Prepaid Calling Card News Blog. This telecom blog provides news on voip International phone cards and ways to save on long distance prepaid phone card rates. It’s all about what prepaid phone card customers are looking for from prepaid phone card tips to prepaid calling card scams to avoid. CleverCalling provides positive phone card stories about military phone card donations to hospital phone cards from charity phone card organizations. Telecom blog away at http://www.clevercalling.com/blog/

CleverCalling.com takes a stand on the NSA government call database that’s tracking your phone calling records

CleverCalling.com, today announce that it has taken a stand to the recent announcement of a government call database that is used to track your phone calling records of a recently-disclosed NSA collection of domestic phone calls.

USA Today revealed that President Bush has authorized another secret surveillance program. Under this program, the NSA - apparently without the benefit of any court order -- has been compiling millions of Americans' phone records into a giant database.

Apparently three large telecommunications companies have reportedly provided the NSA with phone records of over ten million Americans.

CleverCalling’s telecom blog has posted a lot of stories about this hot telecom topic. CleverCalling focus is to provide positive up to date information on the international phone card business industry. CleverCalling has taken a stand in the press to only refer its visitors to phone card calling companies that keep there client’s calls confidential. We believe in homeland security. It’s just to what level do you share your phone call database to the government? Maybe they could narrow down the list to potential terrorist or tony soprano and not about your mother calling to give you a guilt trip about why you haven’t called her.

About CleverCalling.com

CleverCalling.com is a Voip International Prepaid Calling Card News Blog. This telecom blog provides news on voip International phone cards and ways to save on long distance prepaid phone card rates. It’s all about what prepaid phone card customers are looking for from prepaid phone card tips to prepaid calling card scams to avoid. CleverCalling provides positive phone card stories about military phone card donations to hospital phone cards from charity phone card organizations. Telecom blog away at http://www.clevercalling.com/blog/

Hospital Phone Cards Save Patients on exploited hospital phone card call costs.

Hospital Phone Cards Save Patients on exploited hospital phone card call costs.

Patients exploited by hospital phone call costs
15 May 2006Patients are being 'exploited' by the sky-high charges of hospital phone systems, a survey has revealed today.
Nine out of ten patients and visitors think hospital phone calls are too pricey. Where the phone system is run by a private company, it can cost up to 49p a minute to call a relative in hospital.
Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) Forums talked to 1,255 people at 76 hospitals for their views on hospital phone charges.
Derek Easton from East Kent Hospitals PPI Forum said: 'Whilst many of the patients we spoke to welcome the convenience of the system, this was countered by a very strong belief that the charges were exorbitant.
'Those we surveyed also believed that the patient is being penalised, exploited at a hugely vulnerable time in their lives. We also noted that while evidence has shown that mobile phones do not cause problems with medical equipment, hospital trusts often prohibit their use giving the patient no choice but to use the expensive bedside systems.'
Ofcom investigation
One of the people surveyed by a PPI Forum had spent GBP 270 calling her husband while he was in hospital for five weeks recovery from a heart bypass. Another patient said they had spent over GBP 100 using the bedside telephone system but had received few calls during their four week stay because friends were put off by the cost of calling.
The findings will be sent to the Department of Health which is also looking at hospital call charges following an investigation by the communications watchdog Ofcom .
Which? Health Campaigns Team Leader Sara Apps said: 'We're looking forward to the outcome of the Department of Health's review. The growth in charges for hotel facilities and non-clinical services, including telephone calls, is worrying. While the costs of providing such services should not be met from NHS funds, they should not be used as a source of income generation.'
PPI Forums are independent statutory bodies, set up by the government to provide a voice for patients and local communities in all health decisions and services.
There is one PPI Forum per NHS Trust and all PPI Forum members are volunteers who are working to improve local health services for their communities. However, the Department of Health is reviewing PPI Forums and a decision on their future is due this month.


Don't get ripped of at your time of need.

Save on hospital phone cards with site sponsor www.pingo.com

Hospital Phone Cards Save Patients on exploited hospital phone card call costs.

Hospital Phone Cards Save Patients on exploited hospital phone card call costs.

Hospital Phone Cards Save Patients on exploited hospital phone card call costs.

Patients exploited by hospital phone call costs
15 May 2006Patients are being 'exploited' by the sky-high charges of hospital phone systems, a survey has revealed today.
Nine out of ten patients and visitors think hospital phone calls are too pricey. Where the phone system is run by a private company, it can cost up to 49p a minute to call a relative in hospital.
Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) Forums talked to 1,255 people at 76 hospitals for their views on hospital phone charges.
Derek Easton from East Kent Hospitals PPI Forum said: 'Whilst many of the patients we spoke to welcome the convenience of the system, this was countered by a very strong belief that the charges were exorbitant.
'Those we surveyed also believed that the patient is being penalised, exploited at a hugely vulnerable time in their lives. We also noted that while evidence has shown that mobile phones do not cause problems with medical equipment, hospital trusts often prohibit their use giving the patient no choice but to use the expensive bedside systems.'
Ofcom investigation
One of the people surveyed by a PPI Forum had spent GBP 270 calling her husband while he was in hospital for five weeks recovery from a heart bypass. Another patient said they had spent over GBP 100 using the bedside telephone system but had received few calls during their four week stay because friends were put off by the cost of calling.
The findings will be sent to the Department of Health which is also looking at hospital call charges following an investigation by the communications watchdog Ofcom .
Which? Health Campaigns Team Leader Sara Apps said: 'We're looking forward to the outcome of the Department of Health's review. The growth in charges for hotel facilities and non-clinical services, including telephone calls, is worrying. While the costs of providing such services should not be met from NHS funds, they should not be used as a source of income generation.'
PPI Forums are independent statutory bodies, set up by the government to provide a voice for patients and local communities in all health decisions and services.
There is one PPI Forum per NHS Trust and all PPI Forum members are volunteers who are working to improve local health services for their communities. However, the Department of Health is reviewing PPI Forums and a decision on their future is due this month.


Don't get ripped of at your time of need.

Save on hospital phone cards with site sponsor www.pingo.com

Hospital Phone Cards Save Patients on exploited hospital phone card call costs.

Mother Day Mania. Going Nuts for Mother Day Gifts. Phone Card Company Partners with Flowers

So we discussed that the best gift is a mother day phone call.

But the back up with be flowers.

Well this site sponsor Pingo has done just that. partnered with a large flower chain FTD and offered free phone cards with your order.

See the press on mother day flowers.

Mother’s Day mania: For area floral shop, sales spike late with last-minute shoppers

By David Krotz Winona Daily News
.Sunday was a big day for sales at Nola’s Flowers “because everyone has a mother and what better way to express your love and appreciation than through flowers?” said Nola Morawiecki.Last-minute Mother’s Day shoppers stopped by frequently as Morawiecki filled their orders as well as other orders that arrived by phone and the Internet.She describes her store as a “fun and funky shop.”Real flowers share space with brilliantly colored artificial flowers, gifts, collectables and an incomplete sketch of William Shakespeare that stares from an easel.Improbable giant blossoms perch in one window and flower stands spill out onto the sidewalk, as though to say, “Nola’s Flowers is open.”“I keep getting phone calls. People are panicking. Some of them say, ‘I can’t believe you’re open,’ ” Morawiecki said.Chuck Kosel stopped by to pick up a big vase of carnations for the kids in Cathedral Choir, including his daughter. It’s a tradition for them each to give a flower to their moms during Mass, he said.Mother’s Day is one of the biggest flower sales days of the year and Nola’s Flowers felt the impact Saturday.“We ran out of flowers yesterday. A wholesaler had to deliver to me at 1 o’clock. Today I’ll run out as soon as I finish all my orders,” she said.Orders came from all over the world, from travelers and military personnel, fueled by the nolasflowers.com Web site.Her son Nicholas designed the site. The orders came from New York, Korea, Iraq, Greece and Amsterdam.“It was fun. On the Internet, they can find you easily,” she said.While her husband Frank Morawiecki made deliveries, Nola filled a walk-in order for one of her regular customers, Bob Haney, who was buying a bouquet for his wife. He even bought a carnation for his dog Teddy.Nola hoped to finish by midday so she and Frank could make a couple deliveries in Cochrane and Trempealeau before taking her mother to dinner at Sullivan’s Supper Club.“I’m going to plant three geraniums for mom today,” she said.Nola is a mother herself, but her three children were away in different parts of the country completing their studies. Nola didn’t say whether the kids sent her flowers.Contact reporter David Krotz

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So we discussed that the best gift is a mother day phone call.

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Off the Beaten Path: Phone call all one mother wants
By Patrick KinahanSalt Lake Tribune Columnist

Chocolate-covered strawberries? A dozen roses? Romantic, candlelight dinner for two? For this lady, the answers are no, no and no. All she wants for Mother's Day is one phone call. That's all. No, Nikki Collie is not in urgent need of a lawyer. Flowers, candy and whatever else can't substitute for the phone call she'll get this afternoon. For the first time since Christmas Day, and for only the third time in 15 months, this mom will speak with her son. Mother and child aren't estranged or anything like that. The two probably haven't
loved each other any more than they do right now. Her son has a title in front of his name, which means they speak only four times over a two-year period. To the people of Argentina, he's known as Elder Collie. For us college football freaks, he's Austin Collie, formerly Brigham Young's star freshman football receiver. Like many of them do down in Provo, he put the pads in storage to serve an LDS Church mission. Per church rules, he can phone home twice a year. Today at 5 p.m., at home in El Dorado Hills, Calif., Nikki will get her best Mother's Day gift. "It's definitely a highly anticipated thing, one I'm sure every mom of a missionary would clearly feel," she said. "It's definitely going to be a highlight." Her son's mission rules - there's quite a few of them on these things - limit phone calls to one hour. For about 15 minutes, Nikki and Austin will reconnect. The whole time she promises not to cry. Good luck. She then will follow the mother's code - put her family before herself. Dad -
and Austin's three younger siblings each will get a few minutes on the phone. During weekly e-mail exchanges, Austin informs the family on all his missionary work. As with football, the former freshman All-American is pretty good at this church stuff. "He tells us about his baptisms and things like that," she said. "That's really what we care about hearing." This time, on her day, Nikki wants to know about her baby. "How he's feeling, if he's wearing sunscreen like he should - those motherly things," she said. By 6 o'clock, it's back to the computer for several months. Collie comes home Jan. 3, just in time for BYU to break in a new quarterback. Until then, Nikki has to hope he pulls no more stunts like he did several months ago when some fool tried to steal his camera. It seems the elder put a hurtin' (to borrow Collie's much-publicized phrase before the 2004 Utah game) on the criminal until the police came. The kid's still got some football in him. "He said he never got off the line that quickly," Nikki said.

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Who was listening to your calls this mother day? Mother Day Phone Cards for Calling Mom

Who was listening to your calls this mother day? Mother Day Phone Cards for Calling Mom

Interesting blog post spin on how the government was listening to your calls this mother day.

U.S: Your Mother's Day Calls Are Suspect, Dubai Portmasters Are Not (11 comments )
READ MORE: Judith Miller, Afghanistan
Today is Mother's Day, the busiest day of the year for long-distance calling.Given that Verizon, AT&T and BellSouth (soon to be just Verizon and AT&T) have dutifully complied with a National Security Agency request to hand over most of their calling records, you can be virtually assured that the NSA knows where and when you called your mother last Mother's Day, and how long you stayed on.

And didn't your Mom visit Paris last year, and wasn't she on the same plane along with 200 other passengers, including a pasenger who once belonged to a mosque where someone once worshipped who later "attended an Al-Queda training camp" in Afghanistan? Or maybe just someone with the same name did?
Best they know this because your Mom could be a terrorist. Yup, whose to say those are really geraniums in her garden? And wasn't she the one who warned you about germs- even before Judy Miller did?
What's that you say? YOur Mom is not a terrorist? Not your Mom? OK, not yours, and not mine either.
OK, now let me get this straight.
This is an administration that would have trusted Dubai port masters to operate cargo container facilities in U.S. ports.
This is an administration that trusted corruptible Afghan warlords to go in to Tora Bora and grab Osama Bin Laden.
This is an administration that only inspects 6% of incoming cargo containers, and trusts every single Port of Jakarta shipping clerk to be on the up and up.
But this is an administration that doesn't trust you to call your mother.
So I guess I will have to do so here.
Happy Mother's Day, Mom!!


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Who was listening to your calls this mother day? Mother Day Phone Cards for Calling Mom

Interesting blog post spin on how the government was listening to your calls this mother day.

Mother Day Phone Call Stats for Calling Home on Mother's Day 2006.

Mother Day Phone Call Stats for Calling Home on Mother's Day 2006.

Well this year one company helped peolpe call home for mother's day. Check out these recent mother day phone call stats.

Look like you can save with mother day voip phone calls.


iBasis Helps Millions of Moms CelebrateMonday May 15, 1:28 pm ET

Company's VoIP Network Carried Record 43 Million Minutes
BURLINGTON, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 15, 2006--iBasis, Inc. (OTCBB: IBSE - News), the global VoIP company(TM), announced today that it carried an all-time record volume for U.S. Mother's Day. On May 14, 2006, the Company carried over 43 million minutes of traffic. This represents a 60% increase from Mother's Day 2005.

The Company also announced that it marketed its Pingo® web-based offering (www.pingo.com) with FTD.com, so that mothers who received FTD® flower arrangements also received a promotion to open a free trial Pingo account.
"We always look forward to Mother's Day," said Ofer Gneezy, President and CEO. "In any given year it is one of our highest volume days. Such enormous traffic gives us the chance to confirm the superiority of our sophisticated network signaling and routing capabilities.
"Aside from proving the endurance and sheer capacity of The iBasis Network(TM), our ability to carry so much traffic in a reliable manner is an important signal to our major carrier customers, including retail VoIP providers whose use of our services continues to grow. As VoIP and traditional end-users alike keep calling over our thousands of routes around the world, we are thrilled to solidify iBasis' position as the enabling network for so many."
About iBasis
Founded in 1996, iBasis (OTCBB: IBSE - News) is a leading wholesale carrier of international long distance telephone calls and a provider of retail prepaid calling services, including the Pingo® web-based offering (www.pingo.com) and disposable calling cards, which are sold through major distributors and available at retail stores throughout the U.S. iBasis customers include many of the largest telecommunications carriers, including AT&T, Cable & Wireless, China Mobile, China Unicom, MCI, Sprint, Skype, and Telefonica. iBasis carried 7.8 billion minutes of international voice over IP (VoIP) traffic in 2005, and is one of the largest carriers of international voice traffic in the world(1). For four consecutive years service providers named iBasis the best international wholesale carrier in ATLANTIC-ACM's annual International Wholesale Carrier Report Card(2). The Company can be reached at its worldwide headquarters in Burlington, Massachusetts, USA at 781-505-7500 or on the Internet at www.ibasis.com
(1) Telegeography 2006 data compared with iBasis 2005 traffic volume.
(2) ATLANTIC-ACM International Wholesale Carrier Report Card--2002, 2003, 2004, & 2005.
iBasis and Pingo are registered marks, and The iBasis Network is a trademark, of iBasis, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
Except for historical information, all of the expectations, plans and assumptions contained in the foregoing press release constitute forward-looking statements under Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and involve risks and uncertainties. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, (i) the Company's ability to execute its business plan; (ii) the Company's ability to meet the listing requirements of NASDAQ, (iii) the extent of adoption of the Company's services and the timing and amount of revenue and gross profit generated by these services; (iv) fluctuations in the market for and pricing of these services; and (v) the other considerations described as "Risk Factors" in the Company's most recent Forms 10-K and 10-Q, and the Company's other SEC filings. Such forward-looking statements are only as of the date they are made, and we have no current intention to update any forward-looking statements.
Contact:Media:
iBasis, Inc.
Chris Ward, 781-505-7557
cward@ibasis.net
or
Investors:
iBasis, Inc.
Richard Tennant, 781-505-7409
ir@ibasis.net


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Mother Day Phone Call Stats for Calling Home on Mother's Day 2006.

"Well this year one company helped peolpe call home for mother's day. Check out these recent mother day phone call stats. "

Congress puts in there two cents to phone card calling record collecting!

Congress puts in there two cents to phone card calling record collecting!

Congress Vows Scrutiny of Phone-Record Collecting (Update1)
May 12 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. lawmakers are vowing to take a close look at the government's secret collection of millions of phone records and will demand answers from President George W. Bush's nominee to head the Central Intelligence Agency.
Disclosure of the National Security Agency program yesterday reverberated across Capitol Hill, where members of Congress introduced legislation, called for investigations and pledged to order executives from the biggest U.S. phone companies to testify about their role in the effort. Air Force General Michael Hayden, the former NSA chief nominated to head the CIA, will get extra scrutiny, Democratic and Republican lawmakers said.
``We are on our way to a major constitutional confrontation on the Fourth Amendment guarantees on unreasonable searches and seizure,'' said Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein of California, who sits on the intelligence subcommittee that was briefed on the program. ``This is also going to present a growing impediment to the confirmation to General Hayden.''
Bush, responding to the outcry, made a hastily arranged appearance at the White House where he defended the administration's spying efforts as necessary to fight terrorists. He didn't confirm or deny the program, which was reported yesterday by USA Today.
``The privacy of ordinary Americans is fiercely protected in all our activities,'' Bush said. ``We're not mining or trolling through the personal lives of millions of innocent Americans.''
Three Phone Companies
The newspaper, citing anonymous sources with direct knowledge of the matter, said Houston-based AT&T Inc., Atlanta- based BellSouth Corp. and New York-based Verizon Communications Inc. turned over the records to the NSA, which compiled a massive database with the information. Only Qwest Communications International Inc. refused to give the government the data.
Herbert Stern, a New Jersey lawyer representing Joseph Nacchio, who was Qwest's chief executive officer when the government requested the records, issued a statement today saying the effort began after Congress in October 2001 passed the Patriot Act, which expanded law enforcement powers.
Stern said Nacchio asked whether a warrant had been issued to back the NSA request for phone records.
``When he learned that no such authority had been granted and that there was a disinclination on the part of authorities to use any legal process,'' Stern said, Nacchio ``concluded that these requests violated the privacy requirements of the Telecommunications Act.''
Intelligence Committee
Nacchio left the company in June 2002 and now faces criminal charges of insider trading of $101 million of Qwest shares. He also is accused in a civil Securities and Exchange Commission suit of directing a $2.5 billion accounting fraud at the company.
News of the NSA program didn't sit well with several members of the Senate Intelligence Committee that will hold hearings on Hayden's nomination. Hayden ran the NSA from 1999 to 2005.
Panel member Senator Chuck Hagel, a Nebraska Republican, met with Hayden today and said he supports the nomination. Still, the senator predicted Hayden will be grilled about NSA spying during his confirmation hearing.
``He is going to have to explain what was his role to start with,'' Hagel said. ``Did he put that program forward? Whose idea was it? Why as it started? He knows that he is not going to be confirmed without answering these questions.''
Senator Susan Collins, a Republican from Maine, said she supports Hayden's confirmation though she said the government needs to be more forthcoming on the program's scope.
``We need a CIA director in place,'' Collins said.
Security and Liberty
Outside Hagel's office, Hayden defended the NSA programs.
``The only purpose of the agency's activities is to protect the security and the liberty of the American people,'' Hayden said. ``Everything the agency has done is lawful.''
At a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing yesterday, Chairman Arlen Specter demanded that executives from the three phone companies testify before Congress about their agreement to turn over customer data.
``I am determined to get to the bottom of this,'' said Specter, a Pennsylvania Republican, who added that he will subpoena the telephone companies if they decline to appear before his committee voluntarily.
Hayden, nominated for the CIA post this week by Bush, was already facing scrutiny for his role in creating another surveillance program of wiretapping phone calls and e-mails between the U.S. and other countries without a court warrant when one of the parties is believed to be a terrorist.
`Concerned' About Program
In the House of Representatives, Majority Leader John Boehner said he is ``concerned'' about the program disclosed yesterday ``because I'm not sure why it would be necessary to keep and have that kind of information.''
Boehner, a Republican from Ohio, said Hayden ``will have a lot more explaining to do.''
Some Republican senators defended the program described in the newspaper report. ``They are not tapping our phones or getting our conversations,'' said Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama.
Spokesmen for Verizon, AT&T and BellSouth declined to comment, citing national security concerns, and said they follow the law.
NSA spokesman Don Weber said the agency ``operates within the law'' and takes its legal responsibilities seriously.
USA Today said the records collected by the NSA identify the phone numbers people call but not their names, addresses, other personal information or the contents of calls.
The NSA used the records for a computer analysis that looks for patterns that could show terrorist plotting, the newspaper reported. The program looks at details like how long calls last, where they originate, when they take place and what number is called.
To contact the reporters on this story:
Robert Schmidt in Washington at rschmidt5@bloomberg.net;
James Rowley in Washington at jarowley@bloomberg.net.
Last Updated: May 12, 2006 11:44 EDT

Congress puts in there two cents to phone card calling record collecting!

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Your e-mails about International Long Distance Phone Call Records: The government and your phone card records

Your e-mails about International Long Distance Phone Call Records: The government and your phone card records

Your e-mails: The government and your phone records


Thursday, May 11, 2006; Posted: 11:53 p.m. EDT (03:53 GMT)

CNN) -- CNN.com asked users for their reaction to Thursday's USA Today report that the National Security Agency, with the cooperation of three telecommunication companies, has compiled a database of millions of domestic phone calls. Here is a sampling from the responses, some of which have been edited:
We have got to stop Big Brother before the momentum of these Presidential Task Forces blossoms into reduced civil liberties for the entire nation! I do not want a phone call that I make to be recorded on anyone's database to see who I am speaking with. I do not want the books I read at the library to be cataloged into a database so someone can predict my politics. I do not want the Federal Government spending millions of dollars policing citizens of this country. I do not feel that the benefit of reducing domestic terrorism outweighs the privacy we should enjoy when using this form of communication. The Fourth Amendment protects us from the government for exactly this purpose. Let's just throw out the Bill of Rights and live in a police state.Markle Janner, Tampa, Florida
I feel as if the government is accumulating a large database on the activities of its citizens and residents. As a person with no conceivable connection to al-Qaeda or terrorist activities I fail to see why the government needs the majority of information it is collecting. I feel my privacy is compromised for little good reason. I believe a more targeted approach to intelligence gathering would be more effect and productive. This is not reflective, in my opinion, of the values and principles this country was founded on nor does it reflect the country I have grown up in and love.Jacqueline, Elgin, Illinois
I believe it is fair and just for the government to monitor domestic telephone calls. If you are not doing anything illegal, what is there to hide? Uncle Sam can listen to me talk anytime he wants.David, North Wales, Pennsylvania
Even though tightened security is necessary in this day and age, the basic freedoms establish by the founders of this country are being destroyed by the Administration. The United States over the past 6 years is turning into a third world country after once being a proud leader of the world. We need to have are priorities re-thought and start putting our energy and resources into areas such as border security and illegal immigration, and reduce the thoughts that anyone who is not a "conservative" Republican is an enemy of the state.Michael Durski, Buffalo, New York
For the purpose of keeping Americans safe, of course they should. I do not commit crimes and I love my country. I have nothing to hide. Do you?Dave Gilbert, Somerset, Kentucky
I'm scared for the future of America. If that database fell into the wrong hands, it could harm the lives of millions. Let's start respecting the Bill of Rights, Mr. Bush!Matt Hornyax, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
I am appalled by this new information. It is an insult to the right of every American to protect one's privacy. It insults our Congress that the reason they were not informed is because they cannot be trusted with the information. I am disgusted that some of the large telephone companies would agree to this conspiracy. I think this behavior is an impeachable offence. I cannot express the rage I feel at this new way to monitor the American people. Karen Berlant-Solomon, Van Nuys, California
I think this will allow for a comparison between the foreign database and the domestic. This will allow for possible links with cell members who will pass information from those who call or receive info from foreign calls. One should ask the family members of those who died on 9/11 if they think this is a good idea. I would bet that they would say that anything that could prevent another 9/11 would be worth it.Jack Davis, Barnegat, New Jersey
I'm afraid to answer the question. There's rampant monitoring of so many things now, I wouldn't want to be put on the wrong list and have someone waste their time monitoring my nondescript life.Jeff Sutterfield, Covington, Kentucky
First we learned the NSA was monitoring foreign phone calls by U.S. residents, with assurances that no calls within the U.S. were monitored. Now we learn the NSA is building a database of phone calls within the U.S. The next logical step is that the NSA will use the database to determine the content of phone calls that may have already occurred. The erosion of civil liberties in the name of protecting the country by the Bush administration has gone from the sublime to the ridiculous. What's next, the NSA eavesdropping on family picnics to determine if Osama Bin Laden or one of his minions is dining?! Daniel Kolb, Grapevine, Texas
The fuss over the NSA phone call surveillance program convinces me that the Congress and the American people in general do not yet comprehend the seriousness of the threat that this country is confronted with. Apparently a major U.S. city will have to be vaporized by nuclear attack before that will happen. If and when it does, you can bet that "privacy" concerns will disappear from the news.Charles Fenwick, Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Many people say, "If you are not doing anything wrong, then you have nothing to worry about." But that isn't really the point, is it? What stops government abuse of power from misuse of information they are not entitled to? What kind of respect does it engender for government when the government breaks the rules? What kind of example does it set for its citizens? How do we lecture other countries about government abuses when our government breaks its own laws and keeps it secret from the citizenry? Governments from Russia to China right now probably cannot wait to crow over this news -- unless Bush attempts to ban overseas circulation of American news.Larry Siegel, Manteno, Illinois
At the end of the day, who cares if the government is listening or collecting our phone calls? What is there to hide? It potentially can stop crimes or injuries or what we are hoping, terrorist attacks. People need to RELAX.Joe Bracken, Quincy, Massachusetts
Why? What's next? I believe the monitoring of telephone calls is the beginning of the slippery slope that erodes our personal freedoms and extends the arm of government. What happened to the conservative movement, i.e., less government?Nancy Richards, Delray Beach, Florida
I'm absolutely fine with it! Since 9/11, we live in a different world with an enemy who is difficult to find. They want to hide among us, and use our rights and freedoms to destroy us. If it takes a little snooping around my personal records in order for the government to uncover terrorists and their activities, then I'M IN!Bill Konst, Gilbert, Arizona

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Your e-mails about International Long Distance Phone Call Records: The government and your phone card records

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Will the Law Protect International Phone Cards Online: Lawmakers Demand Phone Card Records Answers

Will the Law Protect International Phone Cards Online: Lawmakers Demand Phone Card Records Answers

By KATHERINE SHRADER and DONNA CASSATA, Associated Press Writer Fri May 12, 12:27 AM ET
WASHINGTON - Lawmakers demanded answers from the Bush administration Thursday about a spy agency secretly collecting records of millions of ordinary Americans' phone calls to build a database of all calls within the country.
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Facing mounting congressional criticism,
President Bush' name=c1> SEARCHNews News Photos Images Web' name=c3> President Bush sought to assure Americans that their civil liberties were "fiercely protected."
"The government does not listen to domestic phone calls without court approval," said Bush, without confirming the program of the National Security Agency. "We're not mining or trolling through the personal lives of millions of innocent Americans."
The disclosure, reported in USA Today, could complicate Bush's bid to win confirmation of former National Security Agency Director Michael Hayden as
CIA' name=c1> SEARCHNews News Photos Images Web' name=c3> CIA director. It also reignited concerns about privacy rights and touched off questions about the legal underpinnings for the government's actions and the diligence of the Republican-controlled Congress' oversight of a GOP administration.
"Everything that NSA does is lawful and very carefully done," Hayden said while making rounds at the Capitol to advocate for his confirmation. "The appropriate members of the Congress — the House and Senate — are briefed on all NSA activities."
The top-ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee said he was shocked by the reported activities.
"It's not one party's government. It's America's government. Those entrusted with great power have a duty to answer to Americans what they are doing," said Sen. Patrick Leahy (news, bio, voting record) of Vermont.
AT&T Corp., Verizon Communications Inc., and BellSouth Corp. telephone companies began turning over records of tens of millions of their customers' phone calls to the NSA program shortly after Sept. 11, 2001, said USA Today, citing anonymous sources it said had direct knowledge of the arrangement.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter, R-Pa., said he would call the phone companies to appear before the panel in pursuit of what had transpired.
"We're really flying blind on the subject and that's not a good way to approach the Fourth Amendment and the constitutional issues involving privacy," Specter said of domestic surveillance in general.
The companies said Thursday they were protecting customers' privacy but also had an obligation to assist law enforcement and government agencies in ensuring the nation's security.
"We prize the trust our customers place in us. If and when AT&T is asked to help, we do so strictly within the law and under the most stringent conditions," the company said in a statement, echoed by the others.
Sen. Wayne Allard (news, bio, voting record), R-Colo., said NSA was using the data to analyze calling patterns in order to detect and track suspected terrorist activity, according to information provided to him by the White House. "Telephone customers' names, addresses and other personal information have not be handed over to NSA as part of this program," he said.
Rep. Edward Markey (news, bio, voting record) of Massachusetts, ranking Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee's telecommunications and internet panel, had a different view: "The NSA stands for Now Spying on Americans."
Claims about the existence of the program emerged earlier this year.
In January, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a San Francisco-based privacy rights group, alleged in a federal lawsuit that AT&T Inc. had given the NSA direct access to the records of the more than 300 million domestic and international calls and a huge volume of Internet data traffic. AT&T Inc. includes the AT&T Corp. and SBC Communications Inc.
The class action lawsuit asked a court to halt the collection of the data as an illegal invasion of citizens' privacy.
The Justice Department told the court late last month it would seek to dismiss the case under the state secrets privilege but said that effort "should not be construed as a confirmation or denial" of the alleged surveillance activities.
The foundation's suit added that its evidence substantially confirmed a Dec. 25 Los Angeles Times report that since Sept. 11, 2001, "NSA has had a direct hookup into the database" at AT&T code-named "Daytona," which "keeps track of telephone numbers on both ends of calls as well as the duration of all landline calls."
On Capitol Hill, several lawmakers expressed incredulity about the program, with some Republicans questioning the rationale and several Democrats railing about a lack of congressional oversight.
"I'm not sure why it would be necessary to keep and have that kind of information," said House Majority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, who wanted more details.
House Democrats called for a special counsel to investigate the NSA's activities. West Virginia Sen. Jay Rockefeller, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, who is to be briefed on all NSA activities, also called current congressional oversight "woefully inadequate."
But Senate Intelligence Chairman Pat Roberts, R-Kan., lamented leaks and said a select panel overseeing Bush's warrantless surveillance program, which was disclosed in December, has been fully informed of NSA activities. "Calls for further oversight are unnecessary," he said.
NSA spokesman Don Weber said that given the nature of the agency's work, it would be "irresponsible to comment on actual or alleged operations issues." He added, "the NSA takes its legal responsibilities seriously and operates within the law."
A government official, while not confirming the existence of the NSA program, pointed to a 1979 Supreme Court case, Smith v. Maryland. The official said justices ruled that the acquisition of basic phone records — calling numbers, called numbers and duration of calls — is not a "search" under the Fourth Amendment and that individuals do not have a reasonable expectation of privacy in such call record data.
But Kate Martin, director of the Center for National Security Studies, said after that case Congress required courts to approve the use of electronic devices that capture basic information about calls in real time, or to get a court order or a subpoena for phone records stored by phone companies.
NSA is the same spy agency that conducts the controversial eavesdropping program that had been acknowledged earlier by Bush. The president said last year that he authorized the NSA to listen, without warrants, to international phone calls involving Americans when terrorism is suspected.
Thursday's report came as Hayden — Bush's choice to lead the CIA — postponed some visits to lawmakers on Capitol Hill. He already faced criticism because of the NSA's secret warrantless surveillance program. As head of the NSA from March 1999 to April 2005, Hayden also would have overseen the call-tracking program.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (news, bio, voting record), D-Calif., who has spoken favorably of the nomination, said the latest revelation "is also going to present a growing impediment to the confirmation of Gen. Hayden."
One big telecommunications company, Qwest Communications International Inc., has refused to turn over records to the program, USA Today said, because of privacy and legal concerns.
___
Associated Press Writers Laurie Kellman, Elizabeth White, Mark Sherman and Jim Abrams in Washington and AP Business Writer Barbara Ortutay in New York contributed to this report.

Will the Law Protect International Phone Cards Online: Lawmakers Demand Phone Card Records Answers

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Bush asked to explain phone data collection

Should we be able to listen to your international calling card calls?

Bush tries to put out the fire. Will the government is still listening to your international prepaid phone calls!

But not at CleverCalling....


Bush asked to explain phone data collection
By Eric Lichtblau and Scott Shane The New York TimesFRIDAY, MAY 12, 2006
WASHINGTON Congressional Republicans and Democrats alike are demanding answers from the Bush administration about a report that the National Security Agency has collected records of millions of domestic phone calls, even as President George W. Bush assured Americans that their privacy is "fiercely protected."
"We're not mining or trolling through the personal lives of millions of innocent Americans," Bush said before leaving for a commencement address in Mississippi on Thursday. "Our efforts are focused on links to Al Qaeda and their known affiliates."
The president sought to defuse a tempest on Capitol Hill over an article in USA Today reporting that AT&T, Verizon and BellSouth have turned over tens of millions of customer phone records to the National Security Agency since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
But Bush's remarks appeared to do little to mollify members of Congress, and several leading lawmakers said they wanted to hear directly from administration officials and telecommunication executives.
The USA Today report could not be independently confirmed, and some former intelligence officials questioned the accuracy of some details.
But neither Bush nor any other administration figure explicitly denied the account, which suggested that the security agency's surveillance and data-mining operations in the United States go further than previously acknowledged and rekindled the controversy about domestic spying.
Several lawmakers predicted that the new disclosures would complicate the confirmation hearings this coming week for General Michael Hayden, formerly the head of the security agency, as the president's nominee to lead the CIA.
The New York Times first reported in December, a week after its initial disclosure that the president had authorized eavesdropping without warrants, that the security agency had gained the cooperation of U.S. telecommunications companies to get access to records of vast amounts of domestic and international phone calls and e-mail messages.
The agency analyzes communications patterns, the report said, and looks for evidence of terrorist activity at home and abroad.
The USA Today article on Thursday went further, saying that the agency had created an enormous database of all calls made by customers of the three phone companies in an effort to compile a log of "every call ever made" within this country.
The report said one large phone company, Qwest, had refused to cooperate because it was uneasy about the legal implications of handing over customer information to the government without warrants.
Some Republicans, including Representative Peter Hoekstra, chairman of the House intelligence committee, defended the agency's activities and assailed the report. Hoekstra, Republican of Michigan, said the report "threatens to undermine our nation's safety."
"Rather than allow our intelligence professionals to maintain a laser focus on the terrorists, we are once again mired in a debate about what our intelligence community may or may not be doing," he said.
But many Democrats and civil liberties advocates said they were disturbed by the report, invoking images of Big Brother and announcing legislation aimed at reining in the security agency's domestic operations. Fifty-two members of Congress asked the president to name a special counsel to investigate the agency's domestic surveillance programs.
Some leading Republicans also raised concerns. Senator Arlen Specter, the Pennsylvania Republican who leads the Judiciary Committee, said the reported data-mining activities raised serious constitutional questions and that he planned to seek the testimony of telephone company executives.
The House majority leader, John Boehner of Ohio, said he wanted more information on the program because "I am not sure why it would be necessary to keep and have that kind of information."
In his remarks, Bush did not directly confirm or deny the existence of the data-mining operation, but he said that "as a general matter, every time sensitive intelligence is leaked, it hurts our ability to defeat this enemy."
Seeking to distinguish call-tracing operations from actual eavesdropping, the president said that "the government does not listen to domestic phone calls without court approval."
The records involved include phone numbers called, time, date and direction of call and other details but not the words spoken, according to telecommunications experts. Customers' names and addresses are not included in the companies' call records, though they could be cross-referenced to obtain personal data.
An expert on the law of electronic surveillance, Kenneth Bass 3rd, a former Justice Department counsel, said that if access to the call database was granted in response to a national security letter issued by the government, "it would probably not be illegal, but it would be very troubling."
Bass said the program resembled Total Information Awareness, a Pentagon data-mining program shut down by Congress in 2003 after a public outcry.
The National Security Agency refused to discuss the report, but said in a statement that it "takes its legal responsibilities seriously and operates within the law."
Democrats said they would use the new disclosures to push for more answers about the agency's domestic activities from Hayden at his confirmation hearing, set for Thursday.


WASHINGTON Congressional Republicans and Democrats alike are demanding answers from the Bush administration about a report that the National Security Agency has collected records of millions of domestic phone calls, even as President George W. Bush assured Americans that their privacy is "fiercely protected."
"We're not mining or trolling through the personal lives of millions of innocent Americans," Bush said before leaving for a commencement address in Mississippi on Thursday. "Our efforts are focused on links to Al Qaeda and their known affiliates."
The president sought to defuse a tempest on Capitol Hill over an article in USA Today reporting that AT&T, Verizon and BellSouth have turned over tens of millions of customer phone records to the National Security Agency since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
But Bush's remarks appeared to do little to mollify members of Congress, and several leading lawmakers said they wanted to hear directly from administration officials and telecommunication executives.
The USA Today report could not be independently confirmed, and some former intelligence officials questioned the accuracy of some details.
But neither Bush nor any other administration figure explicitly denied the account, which suggested that the security agency's surveillance and data-mining operations in the United States go further than previously acknowledged and rekindled the controversy about domestic spying.
Several lawmakers predicted that the new disclosures would complicate the confirmation hearings this coming week for General Michael Hayden, formerly the head of the security agency, as the president's nominee to lead the CIA.
The New York Times first reported in December, a week after its initial disclosure that the president had authorized eavesdropping without warrants, that the security agency had gained the cooperation of U.S. telecommunications companies to get access to records of vast amounts of domestic and international phone calls and e-mail messages.
The agency analyzes communications patterns, the report said, and looks for evidence of terrorist activity at home and abroad.
The USA Today article on Thursday went further, saying that the agency had created an enormous database of all calls made by customers of the three phone companies in an effort to compile a log of "every call ever made" within this country.
The report said one large phone company, Qwest, had refused to cooperate because it was uneasy about the legal implications of handing over customer information to the government without warrants.
Some Republicans, including Representative Peter Hoekstra, chairman of the House intelligence committee, defended the agency's activities and assailed the report. Hoekstra, Republican of Michigan, said the report "threatens to undermine our nation's safety."
"Rather than allow our intelligence professionals to maintain a laser focus on the terrorists, we are once again mired in a debate about what our intelligence community may or may not be doing," he said.
But many Democrats and civil liberties advocates said they were disturbed by the report, invoking images of Big Brother and announcing legislation aimed at reining in the security agency's domestic operations. Fifty-two members of Congress asked the president to name a special counsel to investigate the agency's domestic surveillance programs.
Some leading Republicans also raised concerns. Senator Arlen Specter, the Pennsylvania Republican who leads the Judiciary Committee, said the reported data-mining activities raised serious constitutional questions and that he planned to seek the testimony of telephone company executives.
The House majority leader, John Boehner of Ohio, said he wanted more information on the program because "I am not sure why it would be necessary to keep and have that kind of information."
In his remarks, Bush did not directly confirm or deny the existence of the data-mining operation, but he said that "as a general matter, every time sensitive intelligence is leaked, it hurts our ability to defeat this enemy."
Seeking to distinguish call-tracing operations from actual eavesdropping, the president said that "the government does not listen to domestic phone calls without court approval."
The records involved include phone numbers called, time, date and direction of call and other details but not the words spoken, according to telecommunications experts. Customers' names and addresses are not included in the companies' call records, though they could be cross-referenced to obtain personal data.
An expert on the law of electronic surveillance, Kenneth Bass 3rd, a former Justice Department counsel, said that if access to the call database was granted in response to a national security letter issued by the government, "it would probably not be illegal, but it would be very troubling."
Bass said the program resembled Total Information Awareness, a Pentagon data-mining program shut down by Congress in 2003 after a public outcry.
The National Security Agency refused to discuss the report, but said in a statement that it "takes its legal responsibilities seriously and operates within the law."
Democrats said they would use the new disclosures to push for more answers about the agency's domestic activities from Hayden at his confirmation hearing, set for Thursday.

Should we be able to listen to your international calling card calls?

Bush tries to put out the fire. Will the government is still listening to your international prepaid phone calls!

But not at CleverCalling.... Sponsored by Pingo

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Its Your International Phone Card Call: Should the NSA look at your International Calling Card Phone Records?

Its Your International Phone Card Call: Should the NSA look at your International Calling Card Phone Records?

CleverCalling only wants to promote phone card companies that keep there client information confidential. We do support NSA misssion but want to keep the confidense in who gets to hear what.

its that called freedom of phone card speach? or something like that?

CNN) -- The National Security Agency has been collecting information on millions of domestic phone calls, according to a report this week in USA Today. CNN.com asked readers whether they think it is appropriate for the government to monitor telephone records. Here is a selection of the responses, some of which have been edited:
If I had to choose between a one in ten thousand chance that I or someone I love might be killed by a terrorist in any given year or living in a police state, I'd take the former. The goal of terrorism is to make us live in fear and to destroy our way of life. If we become a nation of secret laws, pervasive surveillance, and midnight justice (Guantanamo and secret prisons, anybody?), then the terrorists have *won*, even if there is never another attack on US soil.Loren Davidson, California
I believe it is the old saying that applies to this: "If you have nothing to hide, what is the problem?" I am a Democrat, but you will rarely find me any[where] but middle on the spectrum. If the NSA wants to collect data about calling patterns, without monitoring them, that is fine. And if they find that there is a particular household or geographic area that is placing calls to known terrorists or less than peaceful or stable countries, they should be able to monitor those calls, with the proper authority giving them that permission. I think this is a compromise to this intelligence impasse that will please both sides. Whether I like Bush or not (Which I DO NOT, he is the silliest man I have ever seen) we are at war, and it is nice to see that we are doing something to protect ourselves on the home front, rather than only sending troops to foreign sand pits on primitive lands.Bryan, St. Petersburg, Florida
[Should the government monitor phone records?] Absolutely not. They should have to uphold the Constitution. Who is Bush to be above the law? He and the NSA should get a court order. There is no privacy with him in office. Shame on the Congress and Senate. Peggy, Haworth, New Jersey
Large amount of resources to track and analyze a huge volume of calls, with a tiny minority of them used by terrorists. Besides privacy, resource usage, and agreed-upon patterns to be used issues, since this information is public, all terrorists have to do is use public phone boxes and telephone cards to ensure anonymity and bypass the database searches.Richard Millham, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
I am not sure where to direct my outrage. Should it be at the NSA, the Bush Administration and my soon-to-be ex-phone company for spying on me without a warrant? Should it be Congress for claiming it might be legal and doing nothing to pass laws that would make it illegal? Or should it be my fellow Americans which, some polls say, don't care if they are spied upon?Jeannine Meyers, Lebanon, Tennessee
More and more our intelligence services are taking on the characteristics of the former KGB. It is exceedingly difficult to understand what my calls to Home Depot, Spiegel, Macy's, and my doctor could possibly do to enhance our national security. Next it will be necessary to monitor our credit card purchases. Billions are being spent on new database technology -- for what? It's time we woke up and let our government know that they have to do more than play the terrorism card whenever they want to erode our way of life. No, the government should not monitor domestic telephone call records -- not unless they have a specific target, approved by our judicial branch.Stephen Evans, Reno, Nevada
Unless your phone call is to a suspicious person, I wouldn't worry about being eavesdropped on. And if it a suspicious call at first, it is likely they will stop listening after awhile because I doubt the government cares to hear about your cousin's gastric bypass surgery. Jason, Plant City, Florida
As well-intentioned as the the call records database and eavesdropping programs may be, they're taking us down a very dark path. It's these types of gradual encroachments that will inevitably smother the freedoms that are so fundamental to the American way of life. "Secrecy, being an instrument of conspiracy, ought never to be the system of a regular government." -Jeremy Bentham, jurist and philosopher (1748-1832)Jared Pace, Durham, North Carolina
NO!!! I do not think the government should monitor domestic telephone call records!!! This country has always held dear the tradition that our personal lives should be free of Governmental intrusion absent probable cause to intrude. If we step back and take a look, our right to privacy has been pirated away bit by bit over the last several years under the guise of 9-11. Our government must find ways to conduct our intelligence without using it as an excuse to intrude in to the private lives of it's citizens. Personally, I believe that if we knew the full story, we would find that much more than "benign" compiling of phone numbers is and has been going on. Do I trust the Bush administration? NO!!! Do I trust my government in general? NOT ANY MORE!!!!!!!!!!!!Penny Hoffman, Omak, Washington
From my understanding, what's being archived is basically "who called who" and not the contents of the conversation (e.g., tapping of the phone lines). Putting such archiving in the context of the post 9/11 U.S.A., it seems logical to do such a thing. However, I doubt that's the real cause for all the ruckus. What's really going on here is anti-Bush citizens and those naive souls unwilling/unable to critically approach these activities jumping on a bandwagon of popular rhetoric. Grow up, people. Chionesu George, Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina
Would you believe a thief who robs you and tells you it's for your own good???Mark Roberts, Birmingham, Alabama
Everybody has the right to have a secret even if it is as a stupid as a cooking recipe.Alex, Atlanta, Georgia
I highly value my privacy; however, to protect the security and safety of the people of the U.S. and their interests, it does not at all bother me that NSA monitors my phone records. This is, I believe, a legitimate invasion of my privacy. I think it is a travesty that this information has been leaked to the press. The fact that NSA is doing this does not need to be public knowledge. Matt Rodatus, Frederick, Maryland
The issue is not whether or not the government should monitor domestic telephone call records. The issue is whether or not the Executive branch should be able to do this without oversight. One of the major elements of the Constitution is the system of checks and balances. To say the Executive branch can do whatever it deems necessary, in secrecy and without oversight by the other two branches of government, seems a mockery of not only the words, but also the spirit of the Constitution. The Framers were well aware of consequences of an unchecked and unquestioned executive (another George, in fact, King George III). We, apparently, have forgotten.K. Kono, Boston, Massachusetts

Its Your International Phone Card Call: Should the NSA look at your International Calling Card Phone Records?

CleverCalling only wants to promote phone card companies that keep there client information confidential. We do support NSA misssion but want to keep the confidense in who gets to hear what.

its that called freedom of phone card speach? or something like that?

What did you think?

comments?

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domestic phone call spying to collect government phone calling data

domestic phone call spying to collect government phone calling data

WASHINGTON (AFP) - US lawmakers were set to organize hearings into revelations that a US spy agency was tracking the phone records of tens of millions of Americans in an effort to detect possible terrorist activity.

Members of
President George W. Bush' name=c1> SEARCHNews News Photos Images Web' name=c3> President George W. Bush's Republican Party, which dominates both chambers of Congress, and opposition Democrats expressed alarm at a newspaper report Thursday that the National Security Agency (NSA) was building an unprecedented database of phone records with the help of three major telephone companies.
The report follows revelations in December that Bush authorized eavesdropping on telephone calls to foreign destinations without warrants from a special court.
Federal laws forbids the NSA from spying on US citizens without court approval.
Bipartisan outrage over the report is likely to complicate the nomination of Air Force General Michael Hayden to head the
Central Intelligence Agency' name=c1> SEARCHNews News Photos Images Web' name=c3> Central Intelligence Agency, replacing departing director Porter Goss.
Hayden headed the NSA -- the secret bureaucracy that specializes in electronic surveillance -- from March 1999 to April 2005. The eavesdropping and database monitoring efforts took place under his watch.
Hayden is scheduled to be on Capitol Hill on Friday after abruptly canceling his Hill appointments on Thursday. He avoided commenting on the report, but emphasized that "everything the NSA does is lawful and very carefully done."
Bush, currently at an all-time low in the opinion polls, sought to head off further political damage with a hastily arranged White House appearance.
Bush neither confirmed nor denied the existence of the world's largest database, which USA Today said was set up after the September 11, 2001 attacks.
But he asserted that the US intelligence community is not "mining or trolling" through the private lives of Americans, simply attempting "to intercept the communications of people with known links to Al-Qaeda and related terrorist organizations."
"After September 11, I vowed to the American people that our government would do everything within the law to protect them against another terrorist attack," Bush said.
"If Al-Qaeda or their associates are making calls into the United States or out of the United States, we want to know what they're saying," he said.
Bush sought to reassure the public that "the privacy of ordinary Americans is fiercely protected," under the anti-terrorism programs.
Top US legislators were unconvinced.
Republican Arlen Specter, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, interrupted an unrelated hearing Thursday to announce he would hold hearings and demand testimony from the top executives of three of the country's largest telephone companies to determine if constitutional freedoms had been violated.
"The companies can't plead executive privilege, and I think we can find something more about this program, which we are entitled to know," Specter said. "Congress has not been sufficiently determined in asserting our constitutional responsibilities to find out what is going on," he added.
Opposition Democrats said the report was further proof that the Bush administration was trampling civil liberties under a veil of secrecy.
"We are on our way to a major constitutional confrontation on Fourth Amendment guarantees on unreasonable search and seizure," said Senator Dianne Feinstein, a Democrat from California.
Top Democrats questioned the rationale and the legality of the operation and demanded the Republican leadership hold the Bush administration accountable.
"Unfortunately, the (Republican-controlled) Congress has acted like a wholly-owned subsidiary of the White House and has rubber-stamped everything that's gone on. And then we find out everything through the press, whoops, they weren't following the law," said Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy told PBS's "The Newshour" late Thursday.
White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said leaking sensitive information to the media "hurts our ability to defeat this enemy."
While the eavesdropping program revealed by The New York Times in December affected thousands of US citizens, the program outlined by USA Today detailed an NSA database of tens of millions of US phone customers.
The newspaper quoted sources as saying the NSA analyzed the calling patterns of records provided by the AT and T, Verizon and BellSouth companies. One telephone company, Qwest, turned down a request to hand over phone records, the paper wrote.
Names, addresses and other forms of personal identification are not part of the information, the report said, but it noted that those details can be easily obtained by cross-checking the records against other databases.
A civil liberty group filed a class-action lawsuit against AT and T in January accusing the telecom giant of violating the law and its customers' privacy by "collaborating with the NSA."

domestic phone call spying to collect government phone calling data

Comments?

Internatinal Military Phone Card Donations Wanted

Internatinal Military Phone Card Donations Wanted

We want this blog to really focus on the positives of helping people connect around the world with military phone cards for all ranks from gi calling cards to how you can help.

This press release is a bit old but the mission is still needed and there is several international military phone card donation resouces that will be added to this site.

Military Phone Card Donation Program Goes PublicStory Number: NNS040423-10Release Date: 4/23/2004 2:49:00 PM
Special release from the U.S. Department of Defense
WASHINGTON (NNS) -- The Department of Defense announced April 23 that any American can now help troops in contingency operations call home.The Defense Department has authorized the Armed Services Exchanges to sell prepaid calling cards to any individual or organization that wishes to purchase cards for troops who are deployed. The “Help Our Troops Call Home” program is designed to help servicemembers call home from Operations Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom.For those wishing to donate a prepaid calling card to a military member may log on to any of the three Armed Services Exchange Web sites: the Army and Air Force Exchange Service at www.aafes.com, the Navy Exchange Service Command at www.navy-nex.com, at and the Marine Corps Exchange at www.usmc-mccs.org. Click the “Help Our Troops Call Home” link. From there, a prepaid calling card may be purchased for an individual at his or her deployed address or to “any service member” deployed or hospitalized. The Armed Services Exchanges will distribute cards donated to “any service member” through the American Red Cross, Air Force Aid Society and the Fisher House Foundation.The Armed Services Exchanges operate telephone call centers in Iraq, Kuwait, Afghanistan, and other countries and aboard ships -- anywhere service members are deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. All of these locations stay busy around the clock to keep up communication between deployed troops and their loved ones. The cards available through the “Help Our Troops Call Home” program offer the best value for calls made from the call centers, never expire, and there are no added charges or connection fees.Individuals and organizations also can show their support to deployed troops and their families with gift certificates. The “Gift of Groceries” program allows anyone to purchase commissary gift certificates at www.commissaries.com or by calling toll free 1-877-770-GIFT. The Armed Services Exchanges offer the “Gift From the Homefront” gift certificate for merchandise at these exchange Web sites: www.aafes.com, www.navy-nex.com or by calling toll free 1-877-770-GIFT. Gift certificates may be purchased to be mailed to service members and family members, or will be distributed to “any service member.” Only authorized commissary and exchange patrons may redeem the gift certificates at military commissaries and exchanges, including those stores supporting deployed personnel around the globe.For more Department of Defense News, go to www.defenselink.mil. For more news from around the fleet, visit the Navy NewsStand at www.news.navy.mil.

Any stories or donation programs about Internatinal Military Phone Card Donations Wanted

Comments?

International VoIP Prepaid Phone Cards Are Great on Saving your Money But Read the Cell Phone Providers Fine Print First!

International VoIP Prepaid Phone Cards Are Great on Saving you Money But Read the Cell Phone Providers Fine Print First!

Phone Card Companies are able to save you a ton on your international long distance phone calls as long as your cell phone provider lets you!.

Interesting story to the telecom catch to avoid in saving you Money!

VoIP on Cell Phones: Read the Fine Print
John Blau, IDG News Service Tue May 9, 3:00 PM ET
As low-priced Internet phone services for mobile devices emerge, users should first check the fine print in their cell phone contracts to see if they can take advantage of such offerings. There's a chance they can't.
T-Mobile International, which has mobile phone operations in Europe and the United States, is among the first companies to ban the use of VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol, or Internet-based telephone service) over its networks. Its Web 'n' Walk professional service expressly prohibits such usage, and the company reserves the right to terminate contracts.
Like many other mobile phone companies, T-Mobile wants to protect its cash-cow telephone service from new providers of VoIP-over-mobile services, such as Mino Wireless USA.
Last week, the Sunnyvale, California, company launched one of the world's first commercial VoIP-over-mobile services, offering fees as low as US$0.02 per minute for international calls.
That's cheap--really cheap--compared to the $1 per minute or more mobile phone users in many countries currently pay to make international calls.

Another Story Related to:
International VoIP Prepaid Phone Cards Are Great on Saving you Money But Read the Cell Phone Providers Fine Print First!

VoIP-Over-Mobile Providers


To use Mino, customers need to install the company's mobile VoIP application on a Java-enabled mobile phone.
Mino joins other VoIP heavyweights, such as Skype Technologies, a unit of eBay. Earlier this year, Skype announced a VoIP partnership with Hutchison 3 Group, which operates IP-based mobile broadband networks in several European markets. The Skype mobile VoIP application runs on Microsoft's Windows Mobile software.
Mobile VoIP startup Iskoot, which is located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is also working with Skype to allow users to make or receive Internet calls with their mobile phones.
T-Mobile bans VoIP from super-3G service
By David Meyer, ZDNet UK
Observers doubt the policy is sustainable - meaning T-Mobile may be planning its own VoIP client
T-Mobile UK has announced a flat-rate version of its data tariff, aimed primarily at business users.
The release of Web'n'Walk Professional coincides with the introduction of a new data card, which will take advantage of T-Mobile's upcoming next-generation 3G service.
Not only is it the first HSDPA-enabled data card to be offered by a major network in the UK, but it's also quad-band and has integrated Wi-Fi. T-Mobile is currently offering the card with a voucher that allows free use of its Wi-Fi hotspots for 12 months.
The company's HSDPA trials are currently in their internal phase, with no set date as yet for external trials. The service is expected to be rolled out in late summer, with its coverage mirroring the mainly metropolitan footprint of the provider's current 3G network.
"We're trying to focus on where we already have 3G coverage, to build strong in-building coverage," Rob Langton, T-Mobile UK's data marketing manager, told ZDNet UK.
T-Mobile anticipates that the first phase of HSDPA will see consistent speeds of around 1Mbps with the possibility of 1.8Mbps, but hopes for speeds of over 7Mbps by the end of 2007.
Such high speeds would seem to make the new data card ideal for applications such as Internet telephony and instant messaging. However, the fine print for Web'n'Walk Pro reveals that these are explicitly banned by T-Mobile, and any user caught running the applications risks expulsion from the network.
"It's a commercial decision that we took," admitted Langton. "We charge two and a half times less than our competition. We're aiming at the business network. We spoke to our customers and it's not key to them," he told ZDNet UK last week.
However, Langton didn't rule out the possibility of an eventual solution that avoids losing out to third-party clients. "If we find customers are coming to us and saying that they want messaging, well, T-Mobile is not about to tell them they'll never be allowed to message," he said, adding, "It might be a T-Mobile client."
Tony Lock, chief analyst at Bloor Research, believes that the launch of a T-Mobile VoIP client is a possibility.
"T-Mobile has its own VoIP solution that I suspect it'll be bringing out," he told ZDNet UK on Monday.
Lock cast doubt on the sustainable viability of a mobile operator banning VoIP from its network. "I think that eventually, if there's customer demand for this, it will happen," Lock said. "Other organisations will come along allowing VoIP. Who do you think is going to win?"
Philip Hale of AOL, which provides both VoIP and IM services, acknowledged that T-Mobile is being "straightforward" about their conditions, but warned that "if IM is a key factor for a customer, then [we] would expect them not to choose this service".
The Web'n'Walk data card is free with a new 18- or 24-month contract, £50 on a new 12-month contract and £170 SIM-free through T-Mobile itself. Existing customers with an older 3G card can upgrade to the new technology and tariff for £99.
Using the data card on the Web'n'Walk tariff will cost £17 + VAT per month, while simply adding the data service to the voice tariff on an HSDPA-enabled phone will cost £8.50 + VAT per month.

What did you think about this story?

International VoIP Prepaid Phone Cards Are Great on Saving you Money But Read the Cell Phone Providers Fine Print First!

Comments?

Mobile Phone Card Costumes & Cell Phone Costumes

Has any one seen a Mobile Phone Card Costumes like this one?

or a Cell Phone Costume running in an marathon?

Its amazing what telecom companies will do to push the phone brand. What would it cost for you to have to run as fast as you could to stay in the front of the media attention during a marathon Race? On top of that don't forget that your wearing a huge mobile phone costume?

Would it rank as the the worst job you ever had?

Well the phone card message that the voip industry is trying to give. is that you can save a ton on your mobile phone calls! Especially when using an international phone card on your cell phone.

Customers need to learn that they have options when making international calls!

And your cell phone provider shouldn't be your first choice to saving you the most money!

Stats with phone card companies show that the good ones can save you 90% of what your bill would have bin with your cell phone provider.

Being the "phone card doctor" blog writer, I hope to save you all in finding cheap phone cards online that truelly save you money. I want this blog to help spread the word of mouth about the need for phone cards. So tell your friends on ways that you still need a phone card. Such as on a trip. or just talking on your cell phone.

I hope this telelcom blog will be a resource to talk about phone card donations and ways to keep the industry to stay positive.

So back to my question

Have you ever seen a Mobile Phone Card Costumes ?

or a Cell Phone Costume running in an marathon?

Post your phone card costume spottings!

blocking voip. angry voip customers speak out at national voip conference

blocking voip. angry voip customers speak out at national voip conference

Stop blocking VoIP, angry customers tell BTL by Adele Ramos-Daly BELIZE CITY, Wed, Apr. 26, 2006

BTL violating consumer privacy

Free up the Internet! That was the message for telecommunications giant, the Belize Telecommunications Limited (BTL), at today’s forum on “The Opportunities and Threats of Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) in Belize,” held by the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) at the Radisson Fort George Hotel in Belize City.
BTL’s recent blocking of VoIP communications—conversing via Internet technology—has angered a large number of local users, who argue that BTL is illegally limiting their use of broadband Internet services, through which they access VoIP services from foreign providers.
BTL sells the service directly to customers, as well as to other smaller providers in Belize. So far we have not heard BTL’s position on the matter, though we have tried to engage them. Like SpeedNet, BTL did not make a presentation at the forum, though the PUC said they invited them.
The PUC has also not presented a position regarding BTL’s blocking of VoIP communications, but its chairman, Dr. Gilbert Canton, has declared that it is legal to use VoIP technology in Belize, just not the way it is being done. The only entities licensed to provide VoIP services in Belize, said Canton, are BTL and SpeedNet.
Though the major phone companies were absent from the head table this morning, there were four panelists representing a wide cross-section of stakeholders. They were Kevin Harris for the University of Belize; Michael Kong for the Internet Service Providers (ISP’s); Israel “Pie” Marin for the Belize Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI); and Niall Gillett, technology consultant and chairman of Burrell Boom Village, representing Belizean citizens.
Gillett pointed to part 2, Section 12 (1) of the Belize Constitution—the country’s supreme law.
That section states: “Except with his own consent, a person shall not be hindered in the enjoyment of his freedom of expression, including freedom to hold opinions without interference, freedom to receive ideas and information without interference, freedom to communicate ideas and information without interference (whether the communication be to the public generally or to any person or class of persons) and freedom from interference with his correspondence.”
Gillett’s opinion is that BTL’s blocking of VoIP communications is a violation of this constitutional right of citizens.
Harris said that not only is BTL’s blocking of VoIP, hampering learning via Internet, it is also hampering the country’s overall economic growth. He said that VoIP is a necessary tool for e-learning and online education. Because of the nature of VoIP, it enables users to take advantage of voice, data and video technology, while affording them cheaper rates and more effective communications, he added.
Harris said that the countries that have blocked VoIP include North Korea, China, some monarchies and dictatorships in the Middle East, and Belize. The United States, along with most countries in Central America, the Caribbean and Europe, allow VoIP communications.
He recommended that all VoIP blocks be removed “immediately,” to encourage e-learning and long distance education.
Harris noted that blocking VoIP requires that BTL monitors a customer’s use of the Internet, and, in his opinion, this violates consumer privacy.
Internet Service Providers should not be concerned with consumers’ use of their purchased bandwidth, he asserted.
Marin, who presented the perspectives of BCCI members gathered via questionnaires e-mailed to them, said that banning VoIP won’t cause it to go away. Members are concerned that BTL’s blocking of VoIP is not allowing fair competition and it also limits the ability of businesses to grow and to compete in international markets, he further stated.
Marin encouraged the PUC to allow regulated services.
Dr. Colin Young of Galen University said that consumers choose based on price and quality, and hence the demand for VoIP.
PUC consultant, Dr. Wim van Dijk of Netherlands Telecom Consulting, presented an international perspective. He said that there are basically two approaches that incumbents like BTL tend to employ when VoIP is introduced: (1) hinder its usage and hope that it will go away or (2) get with the times and make changes in their network to accommodate the technology.
However, a number of speakers pointed out that BTL is already making use of VoIP with the 10-10-199 services it offers for discounted international calls. Still, it does not retail VoIP services to Belizeans, as does VONAGE in the United States.
Another PUC consultant, Kevin Arthurs, presented his legal opinion on the issue. Arthurs decidedly told the gathering that the PUC should welcome VoIP—and it appears to be mandated to welcome—the introduction of VoIP in Belize. Among the benefits to Belizeans, he said, are that consumers would have new and innovative services, better prices as well as greater competition in the telecommunications market.
George Hardy, the president and chief executive officer of Las Vegas Hotel and Casino in the Corozal Commercial Free Zone, said that his company pays $1,200 a month for Internet access, even though they have yet to fully use the services, and the provider should not dictate what they do on the Internet.
Even the Government can save with VoIP, said Allan Sharp of the Association of Concerned Belizeans. He said that the Government could substantially cut down on its phone bill by using VoIP to communicate between offices countrywide. VoIP also creates more opportunities for expanding services into rural areas, Sharpe added.
One of the threats he pointed to, however, was the possibility of unscrupulous people setting up in Belize and running phone card scams under fly-by-night operations.
“The biggest threat is only being felt by BTL,” he remarked.
According to Dr. van Dijk, incumbents like BTL stand to lose as much as 20% of their revenues with the introduction of VoIP services.
Still, the overwhelming sentiment was that that is not a problem for consumers. The technology is there and it should be available to those who want to use it, they echoed.
“Regulate, not terminate,” said Michael Kong of the ISP Association. He remarked that the PUC should allow ISP’s to deliver VoIP services to consumers. Give ISP’s the authority to roll out the infrastructure, Kong encouraged, while appealing to the PUC to reach a definite and prompt position on the matter.
As to the issue of tax avoidance, Kong said that a system should be put in place to ensure that the Government of Belize collects tax revenues.
Arturo “Tux” Vasquez, the head of BTL’s corporate and retail sales, who also sits as the president of the Belize Chamber of Commerce and Industry, attended the forum and sat in the audience.
Vasquez questioned whether the other costs associated with VoIP, such as the cost of power, the computer system, lights and the other things that are used in VoIP communications, are factored into price comparisons with regular phone services. On the issue of tax revenue, Vasquez said that those who use VoIP pay foreign service providers by credit card, and taxes for those services aren’t paid to GOB. Conversely, he said, BTL pays a 19% business tax to the Government of Belize.
In answer to this, Harris pointed to suggestions from various panelists that VoIP should be a service from which Government derives tax revenues.
The forum’s moderator, Danalyn Myvett, PUC’s director of consumer affairs, emphasized repeatedly that there needs to be organized representation for consumers in Belize. She suggested that some of those who participated in the forum should get together and organize such an agency. She also said that while the PUC is mandated to protect consumer rights, it cannot advocate for them. A consumer agency is needed to carry out that role, she asserted.

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Lotto Phone Cards get suid for having prizes atached to phone cards. Phone Cards Bring Lotto Confusion

Thihs might have been a nice concept to sell 2 min phone cards that could win your prizes. but why would you want a two min. phone card? You most be wanting the real prize of a lotto phone card. I'd say to stick to the state lotto and help the schools then to fall for any phone card prizes and lotto calling cards.

Phone Cards Bring Lotto Confusion
By Gerrick Brenner
(05/05/06 -- RALEIGH) - A lottery game is stirring up plenty of confusion around the Triangle.

Some people are buying the tickets, thinking they are tied to the new state lottery, but they later find out that is not the case.
The phone cards are not fakes, and you can win thousands of dollars with them. They were in North Carolina stores long before the state lottery started.
But there is a bitter rivalry between the lotto phone cards and the state lottery. For a second time, they are heading to court.
//

Each lotto phone card is worth two minutes of telephone time, and there is a contest incentive. People can buy them and win cash -- sometimes thousands of dollars. But the proceeds do not go to North Carolina schools.
Officials tried to run the phone cards out of North Carolina two years ago, but the maker of the cards, Treasure Arts of South Carolina, sued and won. The loophole: The cards are free, if you mail a request.
The maker of the Free Money lotto cards says the state is cheating, telling stores that his cards are illegal when they are not. The owner of the company, who identified himself as William, says the lottery "got me down to $700 profit. I'm a little phone card company, and they just about put me out of business."
A Wake County judge ruled about two years ago that the phone cards were legal. One phone card company sued the state Friday, saying lottery sales staff and the lottery's Web site are telling convenience stores falsely that phone cards are illegal.

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CleverCalling.com Launches a new international phone card Blog dedicated to telcom phone card news

CleverCalling.com Launches a new Blog dedicated to telcom phone card news

Site went live on Wednesday May 10th at http://clevercalling.com/blog/index.html

This blog will be dedicated to:

International phone card news
International phone card scams
International phone card tips
International phone card rates
International Military phone card
International Hospital phone card
International Charity phone card
International Non Profit phone card
International phone card trends


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"CleverCalling.com Launches a new international phone card Blog dedicated to telcom phone card news "

What do you want us to telecom blog about? wants important to you in picking a phone card or VOIP long distance provider?