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A telephone card, calling card or phone card for short, is a small plastic card,
size and shape like a credit card, used to pay for telephone 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 cards can be
topped up, or collect payment in arrears. The system for payment and the way in
which the card is used to place a telephone call vary from card to card.
Cards known as remote memory cards have a PIN associated with a specific land-line
telephone account; calls using the card are billed to the associated account.
Contents
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 machine at a bank, but a stored value card is more closely
analogous to a change purse than an ATM card. While ATMs (as well as the remote
memory systems discussed below) use the card merely to identify the associated
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 Italy.
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+Gyr and Sodeco from Switzerland and were popular
early phonecards in many countries with first optical phonecards successfully
introduced in 1977 in Belgium. 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+Gyr factory closed in May 2006 when optical phonecards were
still in use in few countries like Austria, Israƫl and Egypt.
The third sub-system of stored value phone cards is chip cards, first launched
on a large scale in 1986 in Germany by Deutsche Bundespost after three years of
testing, and in France by France Telecom. 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 roaming charges away from the home
area.
Remote memory systems
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
States 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
debit. Some prepaid card companies allow accounts to be recharged online
manually or automatically via a method called auto-top-up.
Some virtual cards offer PINless Dialing, either by dialling a number unique to
the customer, or by recognising the telephone number which originated the call
by Caller ID and relating it to the appropriate account. Some virtual phone
cards allow customers to view their call detail reports (CDRs) online by logging
into 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 advertising on phone cards, or featured celebrity
portraits, artwork, or attractive photography. As the supply of any one design
is limited, this has led some people to collect 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. CollectorMagic is the largest database
and informational website concerning U.S. issued telephone cards. Colnect is a
site providing the world's most extensive online phonecards catalog.
Phone card collecting declined with the phone card industry; however, it has
since become popular again.
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 dialing",
allowing additional numbers to be dialed 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 installed.