A
telephone card,
calling card or
phone card for short, is a small plastic card, sized and shaped like a
credit cardA credit card is a small plastic card issued to users as a system of payment. It allows its holder to buy goods and services based on the holder's promise to pay for these goods and services...
, used to pay for
telephoneThe telephone , colloquially referred to as a phone, is a telecommunications device that transmits and receives sounds, usually the human voice. Telephones are a point-to-point communication system whose most basic function is to allow two people separated by large distances to talk to each other...
services. It is not necessary to have the physical card except with a stored-value system; knowledge of the access telephone number to dial and the PIN is sufficient. Standard cards which can be purchased and used without any sort of account facility give a fixed amount of credit and are discarded when used up;
rechargeable cardsA rechargeable calling card is a type of telephone card that the user can "recharge" or "top up" by adding money when the balance is low. Introduced in the early 1990s the rechargeable calling card has become the most common telephone card available after the original calling card was introduced...
can be topped up, or collect payment in
arrearsArrears is a legal term for the part of a debt that is overdue after missing one or more required payments. The amount of the arrears is the amount accrued from the date on which the first missed payment was due...
. The system for payment and the way in which the card is used to place a
telephone callA telephone call is a connection over a telephone network between the calling party and the called party.-Information transmission:A telephone call may carry ordinary voice transmission using a telephone, data transmission when the calling party and called party are using modems, or facsimile...
vary from card to card.
Cards known as remote memory cards have a
PINA personal identification number is a secret numeric password shared between a user and a system that can be used to authenticate the user to the system. Typically, the user is required to provide a non-confidential user identifier or token and a confidential PIN to gain access to the system...
associated with a specific land-line telephone account; calls using the card are billed to the associated account.
Stored-value phone cards
In stored value, called so because the card itself contains the balance available, the balance is read by the public pay-phone machine when it is inserted into the machine's card reader. This is superficially similar to an
automated teller machineAn automated teller machine or automatic teller machine, also known as a Cashpoint , cash machine or sometimes a hole in the wall in British English, is a computerised telecommunications device that provides the clients of a financial institution with access to financial transactions in a public...
at a bank, but a stored value card is more closely analogous to a change purse than an ATM card. While ATMs (as wells as the remote memory systems discussed below) use your card merely to identify your account and record changes in a central database, stored value systems make a physical alteration to the card to reflect the new balance after a call. Used primarily for pay phones, stored value systems avoid the time lag and expense of communication with a central database, which would have been prohibitive before the 1990s. There are several ways in which the value can be encoded on the card.
The earliest system used a magnetic stripe as information carrier, similar to the technology of ATMs and key cards. The first magnetic strip phone card, manufactured by SIDA, was issued in 1976 in
ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
.
The next technology used optical storage. Optical phone cards get their name from optical structure embossed inside the cards. This optical structure is heated and destroyed after use of the units. Visible marks are left on the top of the cards, so that the user can see the balance of remaining units. Optical cards were produced by
Landis+GyrLandis+Gyr, until early 2008 The Bayard Group, is a company focused on metering and other technologies which deal with management of scarce resources. Founded by Cameron O'Reilly, who is currently CEO, it has a revenue in excess of 1.25 billion USD per annum...
and Sodeco from Switzerland and were popular early phonecards in many countries with first optical phonecards successfully introduced in 1977 in
BelgiumBelgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
. Such technology was very secure and not easily hackable but chip cards phased out the optical phone cards around the world and the last
Landis+GyrLandis+Gyr, until early 2008 The Bayard Group, is a company focused on metering and other technologies which deal with management of scarce resources. Founded by Cameron O'Reilly, who is currently CEO, it has a revenue in excess of 1.25 billion USD per annum...
factory closed in May 2006 when optical phonecards were still in use in few countries like
AustriaAustria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
,
IsraëlThe State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
and
EgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
.
The third sub-system of stored value phone cards is chip cards, first launched on a large scale in 1986 in
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
by
Deutsche BundespostThe Deutsche Bundespost was created in 1947 as a successor to the Reichspost . Between 1947 and 1950 the enterprise was called Deutsche Post...
after three years of testing, and in
FranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
by
France TelecomFrance Telecom S.A. is the main telecommunications company in France, the third-largest in Europe and one of the largest in the world. It currently employs about 180,000 people and has 192.7 million customers worldwide . In 2010 the group had revenue of €45.5 billion...
. Many other countries followed suit, including Ireland in 1990 and the UK circa 1994-1995, which phased out the old green Landis & Gyr cards in favor of the more colorful chip (smart) cards. The initial microchips were easy to hack, typically by scratching off the programming-voltage contact on the card, which rendered the phone unable to reduce the card's value after a call. But by the mid-to-late 1990s, highly secure technology aided the spread of chip phone cards worldwide.
Making a prepaid or calling card call requires the user to make two calls. Regardless of the type of card it is necessary to dial an access telephone number to connect to the calling card system. There are several methods. One is via a toll-free number, with larger companies offering this internationally. Access through a local number has become increasingly popular in recent years. Toll-free calls are paid for by the recipient (the calling card company), which passes on the cost through higher call charges; total cost of a call to the user is often lower using a local number. When travelling through several local areas a toll-free service may be preferable.
Once connected to the access number, the account is identified by keying in a PIN (the most popular method) or by swiping a card with embedded chip or magnetic stripe. After validation the balance remaining on the card may be announced, and the desired number may be keyed in. The available minutes may be announced, and the call is connected. Many cards make a verbal announcement if credit is running out.
Prepaid or calling cards are usually much cheaper than other telephone services, particularly for travelers who do not have easy access to other services. Hotel telephones can be very expensive, particularly for long-distance calls. Cellular services are flexible, but may attract high
roamingIn wireless telecommunications, roaming is a general term referring to the extension of connectivity service in a location that is different from the home location where the service was registered. Roaming ensures that the wireless device is kept connected to the network, without losing the...
charges away from the home area.
Telephone accounts symbolized by a card
The second main technology of phonecards is remote memory, which uses a toll or toll-free access number to reach the database and check for balance on product. As the United States never had a single nationalized telephone service (or even the same firm for every part of a state), and with the deregulation of its major telecommunications providers, there was no incentive to be consistent with the rest of the world. The ease of use of sliding a card into a machine just as in a teller machine was countered by fears of vandalism of the machines.
The first public pre-paid remote memory phonecard was issued in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in December 1980 by Phone Line. As telecom industries around the world became deregulated, remote memory cards were issued in various countries. Remote memory phonecards can be used from any tone-mode phone and do not require special card readers. Since remote memory cards are more accessible and have lower costs, remote memory phone cards have proliferated. However, the utility of these cards is reduced due to the large number of digits that need to be entered during usage. To call a long distance number, the user first dials the local access number, then keys in the secret code, followed by the actual long distance number. Based on the long distance number entered, the time remaining on the card is announced, and the call is finally processed through.
Remote memory phonecards are in essence text; requiring an access number, a unique PIN and instructions. Therefore the instructions can be printed on virtually anything, or can be delivered via e-mail or the Internet. Currently many websites post phone card details through e-mail.
Phone cards are available in most countries in retail stores, retail chains and commonly post offices or corner stores. In general, remote memory phonecards can be issued by any company and come in countless varieties. They can focus on calling to certain countries or regions and have specific features such as rechargeability, pinless dial, speed dial and more. Phone cards may have connection fees, taxes and maintenance fees, all influencing the rates.
Accounts without a card (Virtual Phone Cards)
Since the early 2000s calling card service providers have introduced calling accounts not associated with a physical card. Calling accounts can be purchased over the Internet using credit cards and are instantly delivered to the customer via e-mail. This e-mail contains the PIN and instructions for using the service. The service may be prepaid, or may take payment from a credit card or by
direct debitA direct debit or direct withdrawal is an instruction that a bank account holder gives to his or her bank to collect an amount directly from another account. It is similar to a direct deposit but initiated by the beneficiary...
. Some prepaid card companies allow accounts to be recharged online manually or automatically via a method called auto-top-up.
Some virtual cards offer
PINA personal identification number is a secret numeric password shared between a user and a system that can be used to authenticate the user to the system. Typically, the user is required to provide a non-confidential user identifier or token and a confidential PIN to gain access to the system...
less Dialing, either by dialling a number unique to the customer, or by recognising the telephone number which originated the call by
Caller IDCaller ID , also called calling line identification or calling number identification or Calling Line Identification Presentation , is a telephone service, available in analog and digital phone systems and most Voice over Internet Protocol applications, that transmits a caller's number to...
and relating it to the appropriate account. Some virtual phone cards allow customers to view their call detail reports (CDRs) online by logging in to their account.
The virtual phone card has become a multi-billion US dollar industry as of 2009, with a number of large corporations and smaller Dot Com pioneers. While long-distance inland calls have been offered by calling cards, by the mid-2000s conventional carriers reduced their rates to be competitive; however in many countries calling-card type indirect services can be much cheaper than normal calls.
Phone card as an artifact or collectible
Telecom companies have placed
advertisingAdvertising is a form of communication used to persuade an audience to take some action with respect to products, ideas, or services. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering, although political and ideological advertising is also common...
on phone cards, or featured
celebrityA celebrity, also referred to as a celeb in popular culture, is a person who has a prominent profile and commands a great degree of public fascination and influence in day-to-day media...
portraits, artwork, or attractive photography. As the supply of any one design is limited, this has led some people to
collectThe hobby of collecting includes seeking, locating, acquiring, organizing, cataloging, displaying, storing, and maintaining whatever items are of interest to the individual collector. Some collectors are generalists, accumulating merchandise, or stamps from all countries of the world...
disposable phone cards.
The hobby is sometimes called "fusilately" in the UK and a collector is known as a "fusilatelist"; In the USA it is called "telegery". Phonecards have been collected worldwide since the mid-1970s and peaked in the mid-1990s, when over 2 million people collected phonecards.
There are many web sites dedicated to this hobby, some of which offer catalogs and show the stories behind the cards.
ColnectColnect Collectors Club Community, is a website containing wiki-like collectables catalogs. It allows collectors to manage their personal collection using these catalogs and automatically match their swap/wish-lists with those of other collectors....
is a site providing the world's most extensive online phonecards catalog.
As some telecom companies no longer produce phonecards the hobby went into decline for some years. Since then the publication of a series of world catalogues specializing in world phonecards, the hobby has had a new lease of life with people collecting as a hobby and for investment.
Support in telephones
Most modern telephones, both mobile and fixed, have memory locations in which telephone numbers can be stored. Some telephones have facilities to make calls through a calling card service whose access details and PIN are also stored in the telephone's memory. This may be implemented in different ways, often by pressing one button before making a call; some telephones support "chain dialling", allowing additional numbers to be dialled when on a call (e.g., dial a PIN and a second number after connecting to an access number). So long as long enough sequences can be stored it is possible to store an access number, pause, PIN, and ultimate telephone number in a single normal phone memory location. Software applications which add calling card support are available for a small charge or free for some
mobile telephones which allow software to be installedA smartphone is a high-end mobile phone built on a mobile computing platform, with more advanced computing ability and connectivity than a contemporary feature phone. The first smartphones were devices that mainly combined the functions of a personal digital assistant and a mobile phone or camera...
.
External links
See also
- Telephone token
Telephone tokens were once widespread medium of exchange for people wanting to talk on public phones with someone before there were telephone cards to collect and use. These tokens were once widely used in Europe, Israel, Japan, and South America, and are still used today in Turkey.Phone tokens...
- Prepaid mobile phone
- SIM card