[real-eyes] Free International Calling
- From: "Reginald George" <sgeorge@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: <real-eyes@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 19 Oct 2006 17:00:57 -0500
This is an exerpt from an article by David Pogue in the NY Times Circuits
newsleter that is very important. Through this company, Future Phone, You
can call numbers in 50 countries for free from your land line or cell phone,
and it's perfectly legal. Please pass this information on.
"Ever wonder why it is that FuturePhone, Radio Handi, FreeConferenceCall,
and PartyLine Connect all have access numbers in the 712 area code? These
services
all provide 'free' services to you. There's 'no catch.' You just have to
make a long distance call to get them.
"So how do these services get paid, and why are the access numbers all in
Iowa? The short answer is tax subsidies."
He goes on to explain that our government gives the states money to help
them with maintenance and improvements to local telephone plants. There's
also
an invisible tariff involved, amounting to three cents per minute collected
by the *terminating* phone company.
Alec speculates that Futurephone is performing a sort of tariff arbitrage.
"Let's take FuturePhone as an example...All you have to do is call 712 858
8883 (a number provided by the tiny Superior Telephone Coop in Estherville,
Iowa),
and then enter the international call you want to make using the standard
011 prefix.
"So how do they make money? ... Say that FuturePhone's cost to terminate the
call is 1.25 cents. That leaves 1.75 cents per minute to split with the
folks
at Superior Telephone Coop. Give them half, which leaves you 0.875 cents per
minute, and you've got a pretty attractive proposition ... Everybody wins!
The good citizens of Iowa win (they've now got a fiber network joining up
150 of their independently owned telcos), FuturePhone has a seemingly
profitable
business model, and you win by getting cheap overseas calls."
And, from the http://www.futurephone.com web site:
How can I make International calls for free?
Simply call one of the domestic USA phone numbers from your home, office or
mobile phone to be connected to our gateway. Once it answers, dial in the
number
you want to reach.
Make Your Call
1. Dial one of the Gateway access numbers listed in the box below on the
left hand side.
2. When the gateway answers, enter 011 then the country code and number you
want to reach (mobile users, do not hit SEND - the call will go through on
it's
own). For Canada dial 1 plus the area code and number.
3. Wait a few moments for your call to ring through and then enjoy your free
call.
No Signup necessary
Complete privacy
Unlimited calls
Call anywhere anytime
New Countries:
MEXICO, CHINA
HONG KONG, TAIWAN
Available Free Countries
ARGENTINA | AUSTRALIA | AUSTRIA
BANGLADESH | BELGIUM
BULGARIA | CANADA | CHILE | CHINA
CHRISTMAS ISLAND | COCOS ISLANDS
COLOMBIA | CYPRUS
CZECH REPUBLIC| DENMARK
ESTONIA | FINLAND | FRANCE
GERMANY | GREECE | GUAM
HONG KONG | 'HUNGARY | ICELAND
IRELAND | ISRAEL | ITALY
JAPAN | LUXEMBOURG | MALAYSIA
MEXICO | MONACO | NETHERLANDS
NEW ZEALAND | NORWAY | PANAMA
PERU | POLAND | PORTUGAL
PUERTO RICO | RUSSIA | SAN MARINO
SINGAPORE | SOUTH KOREA | SPAIN
SWEDEN | SWITZERLAND | TAIWAN
THAILAND | TURKEY |
UNITED KINGDOM
US VIRGIN ISLANDS | VENEZUELA
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