Phone card

Taiwan calling card with chip

Payphone (right) and payphone card vending machine (left)

A telephone card is a small plastic card resembling a credit card in size, which can be used for long-distance and international telephone calls (mobile or landline). Such cards have several formats - for example, they can be purchased at a kiosk for cash or ordered online. Phone cards, as a rule, have the following common features: access number to the operator’s telephone platform, where the voice menu is installed, personal identification number PIN , hidden under a special protective layer, card number and / or password.

Currently, there is a new format for telephone cards that allow you to establish a connection using SMS ( SMS Calls ). A registered card user sends a message with the number he wants to call, after which a connection is established. The call is considered “incoming” and is not charged, that is, it is free for the caller. Basically, these cards are purchased through the Internet.

A separate type of card can be considered telephone cards that allow you to make calls over the Internet using the SIP protocol . Today, such cards are issued by the Russian operator of IP telephony ( VoIP ) Zebra Telecom . Using this type of card, users can make calls around the world using various means of communication: landline and mobile phones, PDAs and computers. The card is valid wherever there is Internet access.

Technical requirements for communication devices for making a card call using the SIP protocol: a computer with broadband Internet access at speeds of 64 Kb / s or higher, or a mobile phone with GPRS / EDGE / 3G enabled. To make a card call using a computer, you need to download and configure a software SIP phone (for example, X-Lite), and for calls from a mobile phone you need to use a special SIP application (for example, Fring).

Telephone calls from a landline to a landline using these cards are made the same way as for traditional telephone cards: using regional access numbers or a single federal number in the code 8-800, calls to which are free for the caller. When calling using an access number, a universal card number and PIN code are used for authorization. Some operators process the user identification: it is enough to enter the card number and PIN code once at the first call and the platform will automatically assign them to the number from which the call was made.

There are two types of prepaid calling cards: disposable and reusable. After the expiration and expiration of the balance of a one-time card, it cannot be used. A reusable card can be used again and again - you only need to top up your balance in a timely manner. If the balance of the amount on the card is too small to make calls, credit replenishment of reusable phone cards is usually done using online services on the operator’s website (for example, using the Personal Account service).