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Tel3Advantage offers some of the cheapest rates on international calls to Costa Rica. The rate is only 2.8 cents per-minute for the first 30 days if a new customer signs up under the Tel3Advantage Triple Promo. This rate includes all fees and taxes. The same low rate applies to calls to cell phones or land-lines and there are no restrictions. In addition, new customers get up to 321 Free Minutes as a bonus when they open a new account.

Tel3Advantage prepaid long distance is also a safe option since it offers one of the most popular international calling plans in North America. They have been in business for over 15 years and have more than 100,000 active customers. The also have an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau. It can be used to make cheap long distance (domestic or international) from any phone in Canada or the USA without changing phone companies. It is simple to use since there is no need to dial account numbers or PIN codes when making a call. There are no long term contracts or maintenance fees. Simply use the service as much or as little as you like and only pay for the minutes used. Tel3Advatage also provides customers with a free on-line account where they can make changes to their account and monitor account activity. Up to 10 phones can be linked to one account so the same account can be used with your home, cell or business phones.

Tel3Advantage offers the lowest rates to Costa Rica and other popular destinations.

The UK is one of the most popular calling destinations from the USA and Canada. It is also one of the lowest cost destinataions. It is relatively easy to find an international prepaid calling plan or high quality phone card with rates of 1 or 2 cents per-minute on calls from North America to UK land-lines but cell phones are another mater. Typical rates on calls to UK cell phones range from 10 cents per-minute to 25 cents per-minute or more. Even Vonage World, which boasts free calls to the UK, lists a 28 cent per-minute rate on calls to UK cell phones. Not exactly free, especially when one adds in taxes and other fees.

We have done some research and found that there are some options for making cheap calls to UK cell phones. It appears that the best options involve the use of prepaid phone cards or other prepaid calling products. One option is Tel3Advantage which charges only 10.5 cents per-minute (triple promo rate) on calls from the USA or Canada to cell phones in the UK. Tel3advantage does not charge added fees or taxes so this is an all inclusive rate if a local access number is used to place the call. Another good option is the Simply international phone card. It lists a rate of 11.4 cents per-minute but it does charge service and maintenance fees so all costs should be taken into account when making a decision.

These are both good options for making cheap calls to UK cell phones which could save callers a significant amount of money over the holiday season.

International callback phone service is a good option for people who want to make calls from countries which impose a high tariff on international calls. It saves callers money by routing their international calls through low cost third countries like the USA, Canada or Western Europe. Unlike VoIP, PC-to-Phone and many phone cards, international callback can be used to make cheap international calls from any country.

International callback calls are triggered using different means depending on the product but the results are basically the same. The caller receives an international phone call from a low cost third country. After answering the call the caller can either place a low cost call through the callback service provider’s network by direct dialing the desired phone number or, in some cases, the call is automatically routed to the desired destination phone number. In either case, the caller can save a significant amount of money with international callback because they are receiving an international phone call not placing one from a high cost country.

One innovative type of international callback is e-mail triggered callback. This product is included as a very useful feature with the Continental Phone card. They refer to it as Web Call but we find this name a bit misleading. It implies that calls are made over the INTERNET but, in reality, it is a callback phone service where calls are initiated by sending a pre-formatted e-mail message. The calls are actually made over any standard land-line telephone or cell phone. Those interested in more details should visit the following page, Web Call.

The Continental Card is a very versatile phone card that can, among other things, be used to make cheap international calls from over 60 countries by calling an access number and placing a call. It can also be used to make conference calls, low cost VoIP or PC-to-Phone service and it can be used to set up a personal toll free phone number. The continental card can be used to fill a variety of telecom needs.

People new to Phone Cards often find it difficult and confusing to shop for them. Even veteran phone card users often get confused because calling card carriers have been very creative in devising hidden fees and other tricks so they can advertise extremely low per-minute rates and still make a profit. We have tried to list, define and explain the technical terms here so a calling card shopper can at least make an informed purchase and have a basic understanding of the market.

First, we would suggest purchasing calling cards from websites where all of the fees are fully disclosed in an easy to read format and where calling cards are rated by users. These sites do exist because there are still honest calling card vendors, carriers and marketers (web sites like Smart Global Call Phone Cards International display customer ratings for all of the phone cards they sell). The following are some other items to consider when choosing a phone card.

• Check the rate (usually cents/min) to the destination you want to call. Remember that the rates listed or advertised are normally to house phones (land lines). Calls made to cell phones often have higher rates. Also, the advertised rates do not include calling card fees or taxes that can significantly increase the cost of a call.

• Look for added fees, taxes and hidden costs. These should be listed in an easy to read format but can also be buried in the fine print. Remember you will likely pay more than the advertised rate when using a calling card so the trick is to minimize the added fees. Added fees will be called things like connection fee, disconnection fee, taxes, maintenance fee, pay phone fee and long call fee. These fees will vary between calling cards. Some calling cards will have all or most of these added fees and others will not have any of them.

• Calling cards will also have different rounding or billing increments. These are often in 1, 3 or 6 minute increments. The billing increment can have a significant impact on the calling cost depending on how the calling card is used. A calling card with a one minute billing increment will charge a customer 4 minutes for a 3.5 minute call while a calling card with a 3 minute billing increment will charge a customer 6 minutes for the same call. The cost of a call is rounded up to the next billing increment so; in general, a lower billing increment is better.

• Calling card fees are typically minimized if calling cards are purchased in smaller denominations and used for one call or over a short period of time. In general, calling card fees do not start until the calling card is used the first time. Many companies offer calling cards in denominations of $5, $10, $20, $50 and even $100. We recommend trying a small denomination card ($5 to $10) before making a large purchase. Also, it is generally better to buy several small denomination cards than to purchase one with a big denomination.

• Calling card call quality depends on the international carrier used and is not always equal between vendors to a given location. There are many international telecom carriers and call quality will vary between carriers. There are generally three levels of call quality (referred to as Tier 1, 2 and 3) with regard to telecom carriers. Tier 1 carriers offer the best quality but they also charge the highest rates. Therefore, in general, calling cards with the lowest advertised rates also tend to have the lowest call quality because they use lower Tier carriers.

• Check for local access number availability. Many cheap calling cards have low per minute rates but have few local access numbers and charge 1 or 2 cents per minute for using a toll free access number.

• All calling cards carry an FCC imposed fee for using a pay phone. However, the rate will vary between calling cards (it ranges from around $0.49 to $1) so check this rate if you plan to use a pay phone.

• Calling cards typically have an expiration date so be sure and use the card before it expires.

• It is a good idea to purchase calling cards from vendors that have 24/7 customer service. If nothing else you may have a question.

So, how to use this information? There are a few things to consider. First, try to compare calling cards on the same basis. When calling card rates are adjusted for the above mentioned fees, taxes and billing tricks, many calling cards with very cheap advertised rates actually cost as much or more to use than a moderately priced card with higher call quality. Remember, a calling card that cannot be used or has extremely poor quality is worthless to the user. Any money spent on a purchase is lost.

There are a few hybrid phone cards or prepaid long distance carriers like Tel3Advantage. These are popular with frequent international callers since they offer low rates, high call quality and convenience. The Tel3Advantage Flex Plan also comes with all the bells and whistles at no additional cost. The Tel3 plan is also one of the most honest plans we reviewed. They feature a one-minute rounding interval and have no hidden fees or taxes. They also have a wide network of local access numbers in North America. They also have a toll free access number but charge an extra 1-cent per-minute for using toll free access.

Consumers have become wise to many of the hidden fees and tricks discussed above and, as a result, there are several newer calling cards on the market that have high call quality at reasonable rates. They also tend to have minimal added fees so the advertised rate per minute is closer to the actual rate charged when the card is used. Many of these are hybrid calling cards that are really a virtual calling plan with features like PIN-less dialing, online call history, speed dial and a large network of local access numbers. They are also re-chargeable for customer convenience but also because calling card vendors are trying to build brand loyalty. By offering low cost, quality and convenience they hope to retain customers. It seems that some calling card carriers have rightly concluded that it is better to make a little money off a large number of satisfied users over the long haul than to make some quick money ripping off a few customers one time. Alas, the free market even works with respect to calling cards.

International Callback phone service is a popular option for making cheap international calls from countries that have very expensive monopoly, often state controlled, phone companies.  These countries block outside competition in order to keep their international calling rates artificially high.  Rates on Phone Cards also tend to be high in these countries and they often actively block the use of the INTERNET for making low cost calls.  These countries want to force consumers to use their high cost phone company. 

In most cases, international callback can be used to avoid the high tariffs imposed on international phone calls in these countries.  International callback by-passes the high cost monopoly company by placing the international call through a low cost third country.  It works in the following:

1. The user triggers a call to from a phone located in a low cost third country.  The call is triggered by making a call to a special phone number (letting it ring one or two times with no answer) in the third country or by sending a message like an e-mail or a text message from a cell phone.


2. The phone (computer) in the third country recognizes the user and places a call to there phone in the high cost country.


3. The user answers the call and has a dial tone.  The user can than place an international call over the third countries low cost network  by dialing the phone number they desire.  

Callback calls are normally triggered using three different methods.  The most common method is to place a call to a phone number in the third country.  The caller will let the phone ring two or three times than hang up without an answer.   In this way they are not charged for an international call.  A computer at the other end will recognize them based on their phone number and place a call back to their phone number.  Thus the term callback phone service.  When the call is received, the caller will be in the low cost phone system and can place a call to any country in the world.  This method of triggering a call is referred to as traditional callback.  Another method, commonly called web call, uses a standard e-mail message to trigger a callback and place a call.  A third method, commonly called SMS call, uses a text message from a cell phone to trigger a callback and place a call. 

Several countries try to block callback in order to protect their high cost, monopoly phone companies.  Blocking traditional callback is relatively easy since it relies on caller ID in order to recognize the customer.  Blocking web call or SMS call is difficult or impossible so these methods can be used from almost any country. 

Callback phone service can be obtained through a variety of service providers.  The service is almost always provided on a prepaid basis.

Tel3 has just introduced a new low cost prepaid international calling plan specifically designed for Smart Phone users. This plan combines the convenience, flexibility and low cost of the traditional Tel3Advantage Flex Plan with high-grade mobile service. The result, Smart Phone users can make cheap international with no loss in call quality or convenience. Use Tel3 Mobile service with any existing mobile service provider without changing anything. There is also no contract or other long-term obligation.

Tel3 has been in the prepaid calling business since 1994 and is a leader in marketing low cost prepaid calling products. They are an innovative leader in the industry who introduced the revolutionary Tel3Advantage Flex plan nearly 5 years ago. Now they have targeted the fast growing Smart phone market with an innovative new product that allows users to make low cost, direct dial international calls from their phones without changing service providers. Tel3 Mobile users get free access to Tel3 SmartPlug, a small piece of software that is loaded onto a Smart Phone that will automatically direct international calls over the low cost Tel3 network. With SmartPlug, users can make direct dial international calls from their address book and not even know they are using Tel3 and saving 80% on their calls when compared to the rates charge by AT&T, Verizon or T-Mobile. If fact, users will pay rates similar to Skype but have the convenience of using a cell phone and extremely high call quality. Tel3 uses special carriers for this service so users will not experience a loss in call quality. They guarantee call quality.

Sign up now for Tel3 Mobile service and get $10 in Free Calls or take a free trial.