What is the difference between Calling Cards, Access Codes, and Direct Calling?
There are different types of long distance services available on Canadian market. In general, they could be classified as follows: • Calling Cards – local or toll free telephone number has to be dialed first. After the call is answered by switch, the Card number and PIN number have to be entered, and then the long distance number to call. Calling cards are usually prepaid, and come in different nominations ($5 – $50). • Other “call switch first” – similar to calling cards, but usually don’t require the Card number and PIN number entry. Instead, the Caller ID is used to identify the customer. The Caller ID must be configured on the switch first, to allow long distance calling. • Access Codes – sometime called “Casual Calling”. Seven digit code has to be entered just before the long distance number to call. This service is faster than the previous two, because there is no waiting for switch to answer the call after the access code entry. It allows to have telephone lines registered with
