Serving both the corporate and consumer markets in the most liberalised and competitive market in the Middle East, Batelco is committed to delivering cutting-edge telecommunications to its customers in Bahrain and MENA. Batelco is driven by an enthusiasm for delivering the best customer experience based on innovation, affordability and reliability of products and services.

With significant operations in Bahrain , Jordan, Kuwait and Egypt, the Batelco Group provides voice and data services over fixed, wireless, and internet platforms, systems integration and enterprise solutions to Government and Corporate clients.

Batelco’s specialised services cover the full spectrum of telecommunications solutions for residential and business customers and spans a comprehensive array of mobile services, international roaming, high speed Internet connections, WiFi, MPLS IP-VPN network provisioning and management, datacoms and other fixed line services. Batelco is currently migrating to an all IP network as part of its ‘Broadband Bahrain’ national project. This major investment reflects Batelco’s commitment for excellence which has reinforced Bahrain’s position as a leading communications hub. The Company’s shares are listed on the Bahrain Stock Exchange. Batelco had a total market capitalisation of approximately $ 3.3 billion at September 2006.

Bahrain Telecommunications Company (Batelco) was established in 1991 as a Bahraini shareholding company and has an authorized share capital of BD 100 million (US$ 265 million). Batelco's major shareholders include the Government of Bahrain, Quasi-government institutions, financial and commercial organizations, and private Bahraini and GCC investors. All the pre-mentioned parties hold 80% of Batelco, while Cable and Wireless holds the remaining 20%.

Batelco’s employees reached around 1,500 of which 95% are nationals. The operator is very aware of its employees’ training and accordingly spent nearly BD 1.5 million (US$ 3.98 million) during 2003 in training its staff. Nearly BD 71 million (US$ 188.15 million) is injected into the national economy annually by way of salaries and local expenditure and investments paid by the operator. Batelco has allocated an amount of BD 42 million (US$ 111.3 million) for capital expenditure on network development and enhancement during the year 2002 to prepare for the migration to packet switching and ATM technologies that will support all the multimedia services. In June 2004, Batelco announced a further investment of BD 9 million (US$ 23.85 million) in the mobile network to expand its capacity to 550,000 lines.

Despite the full liberalization of Bahrain’s telecommunications market by the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA), Batelco is still the monopoly operator for fixed, Internet and datacomm services in the small but advanced gulf country. It is noteworthy, however, that four companies already have ISP licenses but are not operational at this moment. These are expected to be operational during 2005. Moreover, Batelco, through its holding company (Batelco Middle East EC (BMEC)) in Bahrain, have setup a number of communications partner companies acting as a spearhead for Cable and Wireless global datacomm strategy. These communications partner companies are found in several key areas of the region including Kuwait, Jordan, and Egypt. It is noteworthy that Batelco has sold its 50% share of the Datacomm provider, Batelco Al-Jeraisy (Atheer), in Saudi Arabia during the last quarter of 2004.

Forget the overhead projectors that you used in basic school. Gone always (we hope) are the days of blurry slide shows presented on the chalk panel with a projector that takes two folk to hoist. We are ushering in the age of "smaller is best", and pairing it with the finest character that you could request for. Digital laser projection (or DLP) engineering is just one of the astonishing original technologies that are taking the area and presenting something that we never still knew we needed until now.

Technology feeds engineering, meaning that the power to make with smaller and smaller components is allowing us to produce smaller and smaller products for our consumers to take and love with greater appliance than always. The DLP engineering was made potential by a small optical semiconductor. This semiconductor contains over two million infinitesimal mirrors, which are hinge-mounted in an angular array. These mirrors are each less than one-fifth the width of human hair – imagine the technology required to construct and to mount such tiny mirrors!

These DLP micro-semiconductors work in tandem with digital signals, light sources and projection lenses to project their displays onto screens of up to seventy-five feet. These sophisticated projection systems work in two phases to create colors and shades for projection, first with grayscale imaging and then with color overlay. The micro mirrors can create up to one thousand and twenty-four different shades of gray just by switching on and off. This grayscale adds shading and depth to the color, which is also projected.

The first step in the creation of an image is the grayscale phase. The mirrors, which are each on their own rotating pivots, can create shades of gray by switching on and off several thousand times every second. The mirrors switching on by aiming the mirror toward the projected light or shift away by facing off from the light. Mirrors that consume much moment "on" produce a lighter shadow of grey pixel than the lights that consume much moment in the away stance. The outcome of these speedy transitions is an extremely careful picture in grayscale. Color is added when the light-colored light generated by the projector passes through a tone bike of crimson, dark, and greenish. These easy colors, when paired with the grayscale and when coordinated by three semiconductor chips, are able of creating thirty-five trillion distinct colors. Each pixel of tone is created by the speedy flashes of soft, significance that a violet pixel will really be a super-speed flare of dark and crimson, which our eyes view and read as the tone violet. The DLP engineering and the surprisingly hi-tech human eyes make jointly to produce a full-color picture of surprising lucidity.

The DLP projectors can make in several ways, including unmarried chips and a lot of three chips working in tandem. The unmarried microchip structure is used in smaller, much private applications, while the multiple microchip structure works better for professional venues and good areas of projection. An unmarried microchip works in the manner described above to produce images for house theatre systems, televisions, and projectors for consumption within businesses. The human heart works with the projector to construe colors and images in a somewhat smaller scale for private uses and applications. The multiple microchip systems, however, make a less differently. This lot of three chips does not rely on a tone bike, but instead utilizes a prism to refract the light into the greenish, blue, and crimson parts. These projectors are better for utmost picture character and brightness in cases such as film and big locale applications. The images produced can be either moving or yet, and are of an astonishing character.

The three chips do not make the same manner, since one microchip is really dedicated to each of the colors coming out of the prism. The colored light refracted onto each of the chips and reflected by it overlaps to develop the surprisingly high-quality and good lucidity that makes DLP renowned.

The advantages of this structure are simple to know. The colors produced by the DLP structure for cinemas are brighter and clearer, not to cite that the DLP projectors are able of displaying eight times the tone of their conventional movie counterparts. The projectors permit viewers to have more practical tone and richer blacks, still in house theatre systems, than were always potential before.

The modern engineering used in DLP is too smaller than existing engineering, making it simple for designers to produce tiny, more effective projectors and televisions for consumers and businesses. Televisions can have wider and larger without taking upward much place into the room, and projectors can consider as less as two pounds while yet producing rich- and bright-enough projections to make with the lights on.

The digital nature of the projection too protects your medium from degradation over moment. Film might break, pull, or be otherwise corrupted, but digital files do not merely decay over moment. Quality and dependability are significant aspects of DLP engineering, which any consumer will find over moment.

These projection systems are an astonishing mix of design and old engineering. The nature of the systems makes it, hands downward, the better medium for anything from a job display to a computer monitor exhibit, and everything in between. DLP engineering is going the manner of the internet – it will shortly be a measure in every individual's living for years to go.

The telephone has been a mainstay of society since Alexander Graham Bell first developed the technology.

Telephony has been rapidly changing over recent years, though, as the internet and digital technology open new areas for it, and expand the ways in which we can talk to one another.

Digital Phones

One of the first breakthroughs in telecoms was the advent of digital phones.

Known as DECT phones - Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications – this offers cordless technology and allows different users to share to the same frequency.

This meant that digital phones literally broke the cord that kept people attached to their phones. You could have a handset and wander around the office while talking to someone, and keep the phone with you wherever you were, so long as it was relatively near the room with the receiver, without having to dash through rooms at the faint sound of ringing.

Of course, you could already do this with mobile phones – but the big difference was in the pricing: DECT phones allowed you to make and receive phone calls based on a landline tariff so you were find to use 0800, 0870 and 0845 numbers more accessible for customers, while mobile phones tied you to much higher priced network tariffs.

Teleconferencing

The next big step in office telecoms was teleconferencing over the internet. No longer did you need to leave the office to meet with staff, clients, or other associates – and you did not have to just make telephone calls either. Now you could be seen face to face and set up virtual conferencing rooms online.

Webcams and conferencing software were obviously the big openers for this change, but it has taken a while for this to filter into more common use as the rate of broadband use has significantly increased its share in the market for internet connectivity.

VoIP

VoIP has been the biggest recent change to office communications. Instead of having to use a landline or mobile to telephone people, you can now use the internet for telephony instead.

Not only that, but the calls are often either free or very low rate when made over the internet.

This makes VoIP a very accessible way of making calls generally, and with software such as Skype you can connect with other business associate/clients/workers simply, easily, and with little hassle.

The Future

One thing is clear about the development of telecoms – it’s getting cheaper, and easier, to talk with people.

Not only that, but with digital technology and the internet, comes the promise that one day making calls on video using streaming media, will become as common as a voice-only calling is nowadays.

Finding the right two-way radios, especially online, can be a difficult task. That is exactly why this purchasing guide was put together. Here, you will find some questions you should be asking yourself as you browse through a selection of radios, to give you a better idea of what you may need.

Analyze your situation:

Before we get started, you should know that every business has its own unique needs. Unfortunately, there are no generic communications solutions. As a result, it is very important that you select a system that fits your business needs. With the right setup, your communications system will operate seamlessly and smoothly integrate into your daily business life. However, a poorly designed system can cause more problems than it can solve, therefore proper engineering is essential.

Step 1: Coverage size:

The first question you should ask yourself is an obvious one, but one that is sometimes overlooked: How big of an area will I need to cover?

Once you answer this question, you can determine the type of communications system required. There are two basic systems. The first utilizes portables and mobile radios only and is generally used for short range in-house communications. The second type uses a base station and/or a repeater to increase coverage. This type of system is generally used for wide-area coverage or when large buildings need indoor coverage.

Portable radios are available in low power and high power versions. In additional to the popular conventional analog version, they are also available in both trunking and digital versions, which greatly increase their versatility by allowing many separate “talk groups”. This allows the setup of different groups of users that can communicate directly without interfering with other users who don’t need to be involved in the radio conversation.

So, ask yourself: “How big of an area do I need to cover?” It’s very important to purchase the system that works most efficiently for you, and that’s not necessarily the one that pumps out the most power. We will provide the engineering support to make sure you get coverage in all required areas.

There is something else you need to keep in mind as well. Range is dependant on more than wattage. If you’re communicating outside, you must take into account the terrain. Tall buildings and mountains can affect a radio’s signal strength. Indoor coverage is influenced by the building construction and frequency of the radios used. Now that we’ve got you thinking about coverage size, we can move on to step 2.

Step 2: Where will I be using my new radio?

Are you constantly getting breaths of fresh air outside or will you be day dreaming of your new radio while staring out of a window? Believe it or not, answering this question can help you decide whether to go with Very High Frequency (VHF) or Ultra High Frequency (UHF).

If you will be using the radio outside a lot more often than inside, selecting a VHF radio may be in your best interest. VHF generally gives you better coverage outdoors while a UHF radio will be more effective inside of buildings. That’s why more businesses prefer UHF radios over VHF.

Here’s something else to keep in mind while we’re on this topic. VHF radios will usually give you a wider coverage area, however (there’s that dreaded however again), UHF will give you more seamless coverage inside of the range you can get with it. The bottom line is that generally, UHF is more suitable for in-building coverage than VHF.

Now that you’ve looked at your coverage size and where you will be using it, there’s one more question you should ask yourself.

Step 3: How many people will be using our new radios?

If you have a small system, perhaps with 15 people or less, your needs would typically be met with a conventional radio system with a channel capacity of 16 or fewer. Using a conventional radio system starting with a single channel, each member of the party holding a radio can hear every transmission made and they can also transmit to every member of their party (“dispatch” style communications). Additional channels can be added as your needs change.

Larger companies that require a larger number of radios typically will require more than one channel. Using a multi-channel trunking system, many different “talk groups” can be programmed in the radios for maximum operational flexibility. This, for example, would be helpful to a supervisor who needs to break up his employees into several groups and communicate different messages to each of them.

Communication as transmitting idea from one person to another varies from different languages, different nations, different age limits, different social background and even to the extent of people who cannot even talk but who are in need of expressing their ideas. From the early ages of mankind he used to express ideas on rocks, mountains and trunks of trees by drawing and making marks on those.

Though they were not capable to write letters and read they tried to communicate using signs and signals in a way which others could understand correctly. When time passed, it was understood that these are very primary ways of transmitting ideas and they recognized the limitations of using these methods, consequently many developed methods of communication were discovered. Also the importance of literary for man was supported by finding alternative which was of better communication.

From the invention of typewriter through sophisticated way of transmitting ideas up to using telecommunication internet, e-mail, etc. has made the world a small place. These innovative technologies are being used to eliminate the complexities limitations and various barriers which they came across in the early ages when they were communicating with each others. When people go for new technologies they understood the fact that even some new sophisticated methods may not capable enough if goes only as letters and words. Then it would make some disadvantages when it was used by people who are exposed to various languages in all over the world .Even when it is translated to other languages it was not that much efficient as duplication of cost, time and effort have to be taken into consideration.

Serving both the corporate and consumer markets in the most liberalised and competitive market in the Middle East, Batelco is committed to delivering cutting-edge telecommunications to its customers in Bahrain and MENA. Batelco is driven by an enthusiasm for delivering the best customer experience based on innovation, affordability and reliability of products and services.

With significant operations in Bahrain , Jordan, Kuwait and Egypt, the Batelco Group provides voice and data services over fixed, wireless, and internet platforms, systems integration and enterprise solutions to Government and Corporate clients.

Batelco’s specialised services cover the full spectrum of telecommunications solutions for residential and business customers and spans a comprehensive array of mobile services, international roaming, high speed Internet connections, WiFi, MPLS IP-VPN network provisioning and management, datacoms and other fixed line services. Batelco is currently migrating to an all IP network as part of its ‘Broadband Bahrain’ national project. This major investment reflects Batelco’s commitment for excellence which has reinforced Bahrain’s position as a leading communications hub. The Company’s shares are listed on the Bahrain Stock Exchange. Batelco had a total market capitalisation of approximately $ 3.3 billion at September 2006.

Bahrain Telecommunications Company (Batelco) was established in 1991 as a Bahraini shareholding company and has an authorized share capital of BD 100 million (US$ 265 million). Batelco's major shareholders include the Government of Bahrain, Quasi-government institutions, financial and commercial organizations, and private Bahraini and GCC investors. All the pre-mentioned parties hold 80% of Batelco, while Cable and Wireless holds the remaining 20%.

Batelco’s employees reached around 1,500 of which 95% are nationals. The operator is very aware of its employees’ training and accordingly spent nearly BD 1.5 million (US$ 3.98 million) during 2003 in training its staff. Nearly BD 71 million (US$ 188.15 million) is injected into the national economy annually by way of salaries and local expenditure and investments paid by the operator. Batelco has allocated an amount of BD 42 million (US$ 111.3 million) for capital expenditure on network development and enhancement during the year 2002 to prepare for the migration to packet switching and ATM technologies that will support all the multimedia services. In June 2004, Batelco announced a further investment of BD 9 million (US$ 23.85 million) in the mobile network to expand its capacity to 550,000 lines.

Despite the full liberalization of Bahrain’s telecommunications market by the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA), Batelco is still the monopoly operator for fixed, Internet and datacomm services in the small but advanced gulf country. It is noteworthy, however, that four companies already have ISP licenses but are not operational at this moment. These are expected to be operational during 2005. Moreover, Batelco, through its holding company (Batelco Middle East EC (BMEC)) in Bahrain, have setup a number of communications partner companies acting as a spearhead for Cable and Wireless global datacomm strategy. These communications partner companies are found in several key areas of the region including Kuwait, Jordan, and Egypt. It is noteworthy that Batelco has sold its 50% share of the Datacomm provider, Batelco Al-Jeraisy (Atheer), in Saudi Arabia during the last quarter of 2004.

In May 2006 Batelco announced a change to the broadband packages, limiting downloads to only 15GB per month, whereas previously it was unlimited. This sparked a national movement to Boycott Batelco because of its monopolistic corporate practices.

COMMUNICATION may just be a 13 letter word but as far as its importance goes there is very little that we gain without effective communication. As the saying goes “It's easy to dream but making dreams come true is what really counts. In a similar way its easy to be a communicator but to be an effective one is what really counts... to some its definitely an inborn skill and some strive hard to build it.

Its not always that we end up having a perfect communication...either there is a misunderstanding... confusion... or some or the other reasons due to which things turn out to be really sour...

Communication is basically of two major types...Verbal and Written...we can really follow some basic rules to make these two communications really effective.

Effective Verbal Communication

First impression is the last impression - Many a times we might have heard this being said but little do we actually realize the importance of the phrase. It’s very important to create an impression before any conversation... it helps to make it smooth.

Know the details of your conversation - It is very essential to know the details of your conversation. From the purpose of the conversation to what results are you expecting out of it... all this is very vital. In case of a “formal conversation” be well prepared from before... in fact try to go a step ahead knowing the taste and interest of the person you going to interact with. In fact try to make the communication a total learning process.

Be a patient listener - As easily the word “patient listener” goes, its not always easy to be one... but to make verbal communication effective its always necessary, otherwise you tend to miss out on the important information and offend the person sitting opposite you.

Stop being a liar - Be very genuine with your words keeping in mind that the person/s sitting opposite you is as clever as you think yourself to be. Your pretensions if exaggerated might get caught and ruin all your big hopes.

Presence of mind - It is indeed a hard virtue to follow, but the absence of it is sure to ruin all your supposedly good plans. So to make your communication really effective make sure that you don't miss out on a single point, in fact give all possible suggestions so as to ensure that you are taking an interest in the conversation.

Know to handle - When a conversation is at its peak, especially in case of a formal one, and if you feel that it could turn boring at any moment, quickly sneak in a healthy humor or a funny incident that happened recently... so very connected to the topic you were talking on all this while

Try not to be a forgetful goat - Its sounds funny but its not all that funny... remembering the points and information’s that you discussed a while ago is very necessary... its helps to make future communications more effective... and most importantly try your best not to forget the names. People appreciate if you remember their names, especially when you are introducing them to someone else in future.

Be clear with you conversations - Just don't converse merely for the sake of it. Reduce on your speed of talking... its helps the other person to follow what you are saying. Clarity is very essential.

Effective Written Communication

Purpose of your writing - Always be very clear with the purpose of your writing. Is it a favor that you are asking for or is it a favor that you are doing for somebody. Is it an invitation for your new business venture or one for the kitty party you going to throw very soon.

Clarity and proper use of words - Be very sure not to scribble around the paper you writing on... clarity is a must. Your content should also be precise and clear enough for the reader to understand.

Respect to the reader - Give due respect to yours as well as the readers point of view. Never be over judge mental, for it might offend the reader to a great degree. This is a very essential point. Ignoring this might land you into serious trouble...may be leading to a cancellation of the merger which seemed so obvious, till you had written that letter.

Well all these methods of communication if kept in mind is enough for you to strike the biggest deal of your life or may be regain that long lost friend whom you had lost because of one of your own stupidity. When you communicate make sure no ear dares to be distracted.

Toll fraud is, or should be, a concern for any business with a telephone system. There are many scams that hackers may use to attempt to steal your business telephone system potentially costing your business thousands of dollars over a single weekend. The purpose of this article is to discuss a social engineer scam called the "Extension 900 Scam".

In this scam, the hacker calls your main number or toll free number and ask your receptionist to transfer him to extension 900. In most business telephone systems, "9" is the access code for an outside line and 00 is the number for the international operator. If the receptionist transfers the call, he is connected to an international operator who will then politely assist the caller with his connection to an international number. Your business will pay for this fraudulent call.

How this scam works.

Most hackers/thieves understand that not all systems are blocked from this kind of attack. It's a simple matter of calling your main number and asking to be transferred to extension 900. Most companies do not have an extension 900. Most companies do not have ANY numbers beginning with a 9. The digit 9 is almost always exclusively used to access outside lines. So if the caller is successful in having his call transferred to 900, he is connected to an international operator. The actual code is: 9(outside line) + 00(international operator).

A good receptionist will understand that there is not an extension 900. They will usually know most of their internal extensions by heart. If the receptionist tells the caller that they don't have an extension 900, the caller will say something on the order of "the president of the company told him to ask for that extension and was waiting for his call". If the receptionist insists that they do not have an extension 900 the caller may very well become threatening and try and intimidate her into transferring the call.

How to Protect Your Business

The most important thing is to educate your end users, especially your receptionist or operators. Bear in mind that it doesn't have to be the receptionist who answers the call in order to make this work. For example, if you can dial a direct number to any office in your building, you can ask any one to transfer you. That person could be the warehouse clerk or janitor, it doesn't matter. So be sure to educate your users at least once a year.

Here are some more things you can do to stop this kind of attack.

1) Block calls to 9-00. If your company has no need to call an international operator, then it should be blocked. I would also include all international calling (9-011) if it is not needed by asking your carrier to block it. If you need to make the calls on the rare occasion, then use a prepaid calling card. You can get some incredible deals with these cards and you will limit your loss liability.

2) Block any Trunk to Trunk calls. If a call comes into your PBX or Key System, and you transfer it back out, that is a "trunk to trunk" call also called a tandem call. This can be blocked on most systems. Keep in mind what this may effect: do your executives call in and have their secretaries transfer them to an outside number? Do you have an after hours service that requires callers to be transferred to an outside service? If you don't need to do these things then you should block trunk to trunk calls.

3) Restrict phones from being able to transfer callers to outside numbers. You may need this feature for some people but certainly not everyone needs it. Work with your telephone system vendor to set up the Classes of Service that will block this ability.

4) Restrict the calling areas telephones can call. Does every telephone in your business need the ability to call international numbers, or even to a number outside your business area? If a phone has no reason to call outside your business area then why give access to that ability? If you can't call a long distance number then you can't transfer a fraudulent caller to a long distance number.

5) Monitor your phone bills. It's easier to get away with any toll fraud scam if you never check your phone bills. You need to watch for unusual calls.

6) Finally, be sure your phone vendor even knows what toll fraud is. This may be surprising considering that they are supposed to be the experts, but I've met many technicians that really don't think about such things. Most have never had even the most rudimentary training regarding toll fraud security. I ran into one technician that was highly though of by our mutual customer. I noticed that a trunk to trunk transfer was enabled on the class of service of his voice mail system and insisted that it be removed. When I explained why, he even asked "Why would any one do that?" Now that you know be sure your vendor does.

E-mail Etiquette

What is the importance of Emails in workplace?

All resources across the globe work and communicate primarily through e-mails. The content and intent of the e-mail could effectuate decisions and processes.

Discuss the Writing Process

· Planning
· Consider your audience, purpose & assignment
· Identify the topic
· Discover ideas to write about
· Shaping – organize material
· Drafting – write your first draft
· Revising – “Re-see” what u have written
· Editing – check grammar, spellings, punctuations and mechanics
· Proofreading – check for typographical errors.

Mails can be categorized:

-Responsive
-Instructive
-Invitation
-Appreciative
-Supportive
- Informative or descriptive

Opening Statements:

1. This is to update you
2. This is to inform you
3. This is to bring to your notice
4. This is to seek your permission
5. I would like to
6. Further to our discussion
7. With reference to
8. Please give approval for

Closing Statements:

1. Please get in touch for any clarifications
2. Please get in touch for further discussions
3. I would be glad to be of assistance
4. Would appreciate your prompt response
5. Thanking you in anticipation
6. Looking forward to your prompt response
7. Looking forward to your cooperation
8. Your support is appreciated

Few words that could be replaced

Reply – Response/Respond
Thank – Appreciate
Sorry - Apologize
Please – Request you to
Can - Could
But - However
Regarding - With respect to

Email Composition

Discuss basic Dos and Don’ts for composing a mail

· All Caps to be used judiciously.
· Use of passive voice.
· Avoid using misplaced modifiers, use adverb (quickly, fastly…) before the verb.
· Ensure the subject reflects the agenda of the mail.
· Use Greetings and courtesy words like “please”, “thank you”.
· Write short, unclouded sentences.
· Use simple words.

Email Response

Discuss basic Dos and Don’ts for responding to a mail

· Read the mail carefully; as if you were listening to someone
· Analyze whether it is a query, suggestion or an information
· Format response ensuring all points required from the principle mail are covered
· Proof-read for grammatical errors and spellings
· Read the mail from the receivers perspective and check for the intent of the mail
· Signature should be professional, prefixed with regards / thanks and regards.

The very first Email fax was started on 1997. On June 24, 1997 - PSINet, the first commercial ISP introduced InternetPaper(SM) a service that sent documents from your desktop PC to any fax machine on the planet through the Internet. Nowadays with the rapid growth of Internet users worldwide, Email fax has become one of the latest technologies that change how people connect to each other. By implementing Email faxing software, users can turn hardcopy documents into Email attachment or vise versa, receive hardcopy fax in Email format. The appearance of Email faxing reduces the faxing cost greatly and provides a powerful alternative for those that cannot afford a faxing machine.

So how does email faxing works?

To send an Internet fax, the user needs to create an email account. The fax content can be written in the body of the email, and attachments are normally permitted. The destination fax number is entered in the ‘To’ field, along with the Internet fax service name (efax for example). For example, if the fax number were 1-555-234-5678, the email would be addressed to 15552345678@efax.com. In the subject·field, user will need to input the recipient name, for example: Attn: Mr. Fax.

Receiving Internet faxes is even easier. If you are using Internet fax number, you will receive faxes as email attachment; if you are using conventional fax machine, your faxes will be receive from your fax machine just as others. Because Internet fax is sent in email form via the Internet - you can access your faxes wherever you have the Internet. This is ideal for mobile professionals, business travelers and for the ordinary person on vacation!

What are the options for Internet fax?

In the past year and a half, several vendors have produced and are selling Internet faxing services. There are several different flavors of this idea. There are companies that offer software only solutions that allow you to fax directly from your computer to any fax machine; and there are services offer fax-to-IP Internet gateway products, which are hardware-based routers that emulate a fax machines.

Faxing services that use software (for example eFax) require that you sign up with fax service provider. Using this software makes faxing as easy as printing. These services are good for companies that primarily send outgoing faxes from their computers.

The advantages of using this method are that faxing becomes considerably cheaper because you are not making long distance connections over the phone lines, no hardware is required, you get faster transmission, you can send many faxes at once, no dedicated fax lines are needed, and a web interface is available if you wish to add fax-on-demand capability to a website.

The disadvantages are documents must be sent from your computer. With these services, there is no support for fax-to-IP gateways.

While for fax-to-IP Internet gateway products you will need a hardware based routers that emulate a fax machines. With these, faxing is done in the regular way using the fax machine, but the gateway device, which then dials the destination fax machine and sends the fax, interrupts the process.

This service is good if you don't send a lot of faxes, but would still like to take advantage of the savings of using Internet delivery. It is also good if you do a lot of international fax calls. The disadvantages are that you won't save much on either domestic faxing, or faxing to countries where the Internet infrastructure is less well developed.

If you want to purchase a prepaid phone cards online or over the counter, you will quickly see that there are thousands of cards available. So, how do you choose the right phone card for your individual needs?
Begin by asking yourself the following questions, or go directly to the Basic Usage & Suggestions portion of this page. You may also want to consult the Glossary of Terms.
QUESTIONS TO ASK PRIOR TO PURCHASING A PREPAID PHONE CARD
1) What rate does the card offer to my calling destination (typically shown as ¢/min)? Confirm rates before you call and remember that some rates may fluctuate. Also, calls made to international cell phones are generally billed at a higher rate.
2) Do the rates vary depending on the hour of the day?
Be sure that the rate you receive remains constant throughout the entire day. Unless otherwise stated, the advertised rate should be constant no matter what time of day.
3) What is the Minute Billing or Minute Rounding schedule for the card?
Rounding (minute billing) refers to the increments in which phone calls are billed. For example, with 3 minute rounding, a 4 minute phone call would be billed as a 6 minute phone call. With 1 minute rounding, the same 4 minute call would be billed as a 4 minute call.
4) Will I be charged for calls that do not connect?
Know in advance if you will be charged for attempting a call that does not connect. Please confirm this with the carrier by contacting their customer service department.
5) Are there any additional fees or taxes?
Some phone cards include additional fees and/or taxes. Adding these fees allows carriers and retailers to to keep their advertised rates extra low. You can avoid many types of additional fees and taxes by using all of your minutes in one call. Remember... fees and taxes effectively reduce the number of minutes you'll receive.
Further, not all phone card retailers are created equal. Many will not disclose all fees and taxes, so be sure to ask before you buy. A retailer using best business practices will reveal all known taxes and fees to you up front.
7) Can I reach a customer service operator 24 hours a day?
Being able to get a hold of your phone card's customer service department is important because they will be able to help you with any unforeseen issues that may arise at any time during the day.
8) Does the phone card have an expiration date?
If yes, any remaining minutes on the card past this date will be lost.
9) Does the merchant/retailer offer any form of guarantee?
Most prepaid phone card companies do not offer any guarantee on their products. There are , however, a handful of companies that do. A guarantee will further ensure that you get the minutes you pay for.
10) Does the company I am researching appear to be trustworthy?
Look for signs of generating trust: Visible phone numbers, privacy policy, BBB membership, secure transactions, warranties and guarantees.
11) How will I receive my prepaid phone card after purchase?
Typically, if purchasing over the Internet, phone cards will be presented to via email or right on screen pending a successful transaction and acceptance by your bank. Some companies may send you a physical card, but in most cases the delivery occurs by email or right on your screen.
BASIC USAGE & SUGGESTIONS
1) Before traveling, confirm that your pin is valid. To do this, dial the US access number and enter your pin—make sure not to make any connections so that you will not reduce the balance. Confirm with the retailer and/or carrier that service is available and that the access number is correct.
2) You may be able to get extra minutes if you utilize a local access number (not available on all calling cards or in all regions). If available, the number may be provided when you dial the toll free access number included with your pin and/or online—if the pin was purchased on a website. You may also be able to confirm this information with the carrier of your calling card.
3)Be sure the site you are ordering from is secure. Look for an image or message indicating this, such as SSL, Secure Transactions, Thawte Certified, etc.
4) When choosing a card that does carry additional fees and/or taxes to get the lowest rate possible, consider purchasing smaller denominations so that you can use all of the minutes in one phone call. This will allow you to get MAXIMUM minutes as you avoid scheduled fees and/or taxes. Fees and taxes will not begin until your "first use" of the card.
5) If making long calls, be sure that your card does not have a long call fee associated with it. Some cards will tax you if you make calls that last longer than a predetermined amount of time. Some carriers add in this fee to keep people from using a card in one call. NOTE: This type of fee is not as prevalent as it once was.
6) All cards carry an FCC imposed payphone fee—this fee averages anywhere from 49¢ to $1.00 every time you use a when calling from a payphone. This fee also applies when making calls from other countries if using a calling card sold by a U.S. company.
GLOSSARY OF TERMS
Connection Fee (also known as Access fee) - This is the most common fee and one that most customers probably know about already. This fee is charged every time you place a call, and it usually varies from 5¢ to $1. The worst thing that can happen with this connection fee is, when the card buyer makes the call and either the answering machine gives a reply or the call is routed to a voice mailbox, the connection fee is charged even though the customer has not really uttered even a single word. Of course the best option to avoid this charge is simply to choose a that has no connection fee!
Disconnection Fee - This fee is identical as the connection fee, except that it is charged at the termination of the each call instead of the beginning of each call.
Taxes - This fee is charged on a per usage basis with reference to the call charges, and it is typically 5-15%.
Minute Rounding (also known as Billing increment) - If a has one minute rounding, a call of 50 seconds will be charged the same as one minute and 3 1/2 minutes will be charged the same as four minutes. Many consumers only choose a card with one minute (or less) rounding in order to avoid losing some of their call time.
Maintenance Fee - This is a very notorious fee (which many retailers keep hidden) that is charged against the . These deductions typically occur in ether daily, weekly, bi-monthly, or on a monthly basis.
Payphones Fee - There are surcharges on s for all calls made from payphones imposed by the FCC. You will pay this fee regardless of whether the call goes through or not.
Access Number - The billing also depends on whether one calls a local access number or a toll-free number. In many cases, using a local area access number will reduce your per minute rate.
Long Call Surcharge - Some carriers charge an extended talking fee if a call goes beyond a specified duration (usually around 20 minutes).
Expiration Date - Most prepaid s have an expiration date, of which there are two types: the date from which you actually begin using the card and a general expiration date. After the expiration date you will no longer be able to use the card even if you have unused minutes remaining.
PIN - This is the Personal Identification Number each has. This code will inform the carrier which card is being used.

Today's heightened security consciousness has caused corporations to take proactive steps to protect their telephone systems from toll fraud. Unsecured telephone networks can allow criminals to sell corporate phone access to our enemies. According to Security.ITworld.com's article "Keep on the lookout for toll call fraud," the FBI treats some cases of toll fraud as intelligence threats.
In this day and age of corporate espionage, the importance of tracking the source of a call, and detecting internal or external toll fraud has escalated in priority for many CEOs in today's heightened security-conscious climate. According to a study by the American Society for Industrial Security, industrial espionage could account for potential losses for all American industry of as much as $63 billion. The actual dollar amount is heavily debated, but everyone agrees that the problem can't be taken lightly. Toll Fraud alone costs the American economy $5 billion annually.
Sophisticated call accounting software systems can be implemented to reduce the risk of toll fraud while also helping corporations rein in spending on telecom services. Often companies are unsure of how much they spend on telecom services, and telecom expense management systems can help recover wasted expenditures on lines no longer in use, and erroneous carrier phone bill charges. Unsecured phone networks leave proprietary information, corporate assets, and trade secrets open to hackers. Installing a full featured call accounting system provides a safe base of operation against internal and external threats.
Through real-time call data records (CDRs) collection and automated, customizable reports and alerts, enterprises can protect themselves against unauthorized phone use, tracing all calls back to their origination. Companies can realize 10 - 30% or more in savings by deploying a full featured telecom expense management system. These savings can often pay for the cost of implementing the call accounting system. In addition to the peace of mind that a secure telephony system provides, enterprises can also be assured that a secured phone system will help them be in full compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley and HIPAA regulations as regards call detail records.

The popularity of 1-800 vanity numbers is on the rise, particularly as it relates to marketing efforts. The vanity numbers make it easy to pair with almost any type of marketing campaign. When using call accounting software, tracking calls can provide detailed reports as to which marketing strategy is yielding the greatest return on investment in terms of inbound calls.
These reports allow marketing strategists to monitor media buys and optimize clients' media budgets at any time. By monitoring the call detail records, one can tell which radio or television spot is pulling more response, and if a promotion is resonating with consumers.
Call detail records, both local and long distance, can be used for other reasons such as usage verification, billing reconciliation, network management and to monitor telephone usage to determine volume of phone usage, as well as abuse of your company's telephone system. CDR's are an asset in managing long distance telephone costs and aid in the planning for future telecommunications needs.
Call accounting software has long been associated with hotel industries or telecom companies as a means of cost allocation and telecom billing. The benefits and return on investment are many regardless of corporate industry. In this case, it would serve as a viable tool in tracking inbound and outbound marketing calls for better planning.
The right quality accounting system with present-time reporting can dramatically enhance a business' telecom expense management efforts. Call accounting software is one valuable tool for managing and retaining a high return on telecom investment through a variety of ways, including hard cost as well as soft cost savings via productivity and efficiency measures.
A useful tool when analyzing advertising environments for future efforts and the allocation of clients' media budgets, the reports can tell what times of day or days of week are most productive for a specific media outlet and message. Maximizing marketing efforts with the use of call accounting systems and 1-800 numbers can surely help boost the marketing needs for your company.

Sony Ericsson K800i, the first camera phone from Sony Ericsson’s Cyber-Shot range is another marvel befitting the reputation of the company. Sony Ericsson K800i incorporates a 3.2 mega pixel camera that makes it one of the best camera mobile phones with highest resolution. The quality of the camera leaves nothing more to desire. Generally, you will find that most camera mobile phones have a weaker LCD flash leading to poor exposure. But, Sony Ericsson K800i’s features like auto-focus and a real xenon flash brings this camera mobile phone in a league of its own. You can use it as a digital camera as the quality of pictures that it offers is really superb.
The K800i also offers you a unique feature enabling you to take nine pictures at a time. You can select the best frame afterwards. It is a dual mode UMTS/GPRS phone together with unique mobile phone applications and Sony digital imaging technology. K800i also offers you a FM tuner, USB 2.0, Memory Stick M2 slot, 64MB of internal storage and, yes, an image stabilizer that helps your camera phone to ride over the shocks while photographing. If seen as a multimedia mobile phone, it comes with stereo headphones.
Sony Ericsson K800i – the all-rounder is surely not a mere mobile phone with camera; it offers you all the other needed features to make it a comprehensive handset. This 3G mobile phone is really worth owning. You can get this all-rounder through various lucrative mobile phone deals available from mobile phone retailers. Just browse through some mobile retailing sites and select a particular mobile phone deal that suits your needs and caters to your requirements.

The current sales of prepaid phone cards are rapidly increasing at double-digit rates. Prepaid calling cards are being purchased not only by low income households and small businesses. Rising prices of commodities and instability of the economy are just few of the reasons that make the use of prepaid phone cards a practical choice by almost everybody. Even wealthy families and big corporations have been washed away by the current trend and cannot help join the bandwagon.
According to the recent report released by market research company called the CPR Group, almost 55 percent of the highest income households have utilized prepaid calling cards, as well as 50 percent of the lowest income households.
The prepaid phone card started with the goal of satisfying the demand for cheaper call rates in the height of increasing costs of telephone subscriptions. The industry targeted families in low income brackets and also starting businesses who do not have regular phone service or find it hard to shoulder expensive telephone services. It also aimed to accommodate immigrants who are always on the go by offering them features that allow users telephone accessibility in every corner of the globe at a very cheap price.
Prepaid calling cards can be purchased not only in convenience stores but also in the Web. Its increasing sales and popularity have been said to be the only light in the struggling telecom industry and have been hoped to prevent the industry’s current downtrend.
With the expanding prepaid calling card market, there had been increasing competition between key players and infant prepaid calling card companies. This competition led to the decreasing calling rates, which have fallen dramatically to mere pennies per minute.
An example of this decreasing trend is the $10 phone card by Nivatel Communications. This card gives its users 400 calling minutes to Germany, 300 minutes to Brazil, or 500 minutes to Singapore. Sometimes the price of these cards can be further bargained to $9 or even $8.
Prepaid phone cards have been hailed as big moneymakers, even during its infancy. Experts say that these cards continue to be the most profitable segments of the dwindling telecom industry.
IDT, a huge corporation, recorded 30 to 40 percent annual growth in the sales of prepaid phone cards. 70 percent of the company’s revenues is said to be coming from sales of prepaid phone cards. In July alone, it has sold 18 million calling cards.
Problems with quality of phone calls made through prepaid phone cards had already been resolved with technological developments, greatly reducing echoes and delays in calls.
These technological advancements in telecom industry have also made possible the entry of small businesses in the prepaid industry. Instead of building their own networks, smaller companies can just lease lines from big telecom companies at a low cost.

If you want a phone that’s a real 3G phone then you should go for Nokia 6280 phone; a phone that has every facility that a youngster wants. Nokia 6280 has 2 cameras: an 8x digital zoom ,2 mega pixel camera to click high resolution pictures with integrated flash which is at the rear end of the mobile and a VGA camera at the front so that you can make interactive phone calls. You can actually see a person while making a phone call to him or her.Nokia 6280 has an inbuilt music player in it .You also get a stereo headset free with this phone so Nokia 6280 can be used like a walkman. Music can be downloaded and songs of one’s choice are available.
Java – embedded games can also be downloaded as this phone has got Java. One can play these games with friends to have fun and frolic. Nokia 6280 can be used to send MMS’s to all the phones that have this facility. You can make videos and send them like SMS. Nokia 6280 increases your connectivity and accessibility manifold with its modern technologies like EDGE, MMS, WAP and GPRS. Infact emails can be sent through this phone. So, you can send emails to the job portals and also apply to important British universities.
Are you actually irritated by the frequent battery failures of your phone? Nokia 6280 does not need a recharge till 250 hours which means at least 9 days. You will love the slide-up design of the phone that looks very sassy. Screen display is also quite good: 320x240 pixels resolution which is definitely high quality.Nokia 6280 is available at 12 months free line rental. It means that the coupons can be bought for each month and at the end of the year these coupons are reimbursed. So, get a contract phone and enjoy the benefits of 3G for the rest of your life. It is perfectly in sync with what our generation needs.