direct-telecom

One of the biggest advantages of having an Internet connection is that you can do a lot of things faster and cheaper online, avoiding unnecessary hassle and saving time and money in the process. But have you ever thought that you can also use less energy, save whole reams of paper and contribute to a better environment by using the Internet for many of your everyday tasks?

That’s right! And here are some ideas to get you started. We’re sure you can think up many more, so please do share them with us by adding a comment to this post.

And being able to do so much online from the comfort of your home doesn’t mean you have to be a couch potato. On the contrary, you’ll have more time to go out and enjoy the things you really like doing.

Send E-mail and save the trees

This one must be quite obvious, but just think about it. Free, instantaneous communication to anywhere in the world without using paper (remember that even recycled paper has an environmental cost) and no post van needed to drive your letter around! With an increasing number of people and businesses getting their own e-mail accounts you’ll have more and more opportunities to be greener by not using paper and to save money on stamps and get quicker replies from your contacts too.

Ditch your car and shop online

When you shop online, you don’t have to waste time and money driving around shops getting stuck in traffic and spewing out toxic gases into the atmosphere. And whether you’re looking to buy the latest electronic gadget or simply hunting for yet another woolly scarf for dad’s birthday, you can easily compare prices and get the best deal on the Internet. Even in cases where you absolutely must visit the shop and see the product in your hands, you can cut down drastically on a lot of commuting by checking online first and visiting just the one or two shops with the best prices.

What’s more, many supermarkets now offer you the chance to shop for groceries online. One example is Mercadona supermarket in Spain, where you can simply visit their website, tick off the products you require and place an order within minutes. Mercadona will deliver you shopping to your door and guarantees that their staff will select your products with the same care you would. You do have to pay a small fee for the service, but that is generally much less than the value of the time and fuel you use to do it yourself. And one delivery van servicing dozens of online shoppers means less traffic congestion, less emissions and a better environment for us all.

More news – No paper!

Why pay a Euro or two for a newspaper when you can get all the latest news online for free the very same day things happen? And again you’re saving on paper, and even some exhaust from newspaper delivery vans too. Once you see the amazing selection of free news websites – many with the same content as your traditional paper – you’re guaranteed not to miss the old fish ‘n’ chip wrapper type you used to pay for at the newsagent’s.

Get started by visiting www.bbcnews.com and www.typicallyspanish.com or just search for your favourite newspaper’s website on Google.

Wave the dreaded bank queues and wasteful paperwork goodbye

Gone are the days of queuing for ages at the bank to make a money transfer or whatnot. Nowadays, there’s almost nothing you cannot do online except withdraw or deposit actual cash. Besides, most banks have very secure websites and servers and are constantly improving their technology to make online banking easier and safer than ever. Your bank will provide you with the necessary details you need to access your account online. This way you save time, avoid having to drive around and even do away with the piles of tree-eating paperwork that is inevitable when banks process your transactions manually.

Get cheaper travel tickets or even organise your whole holiday online

From flights, to hotels, to airport parking, if you’re going anywhere, you can book it all online and usually at very much reduced rates compared to your travel agent. Once again, the Internet is your best friend when it comes to shopping around for the best deals and comparing prices from the comfort of your home, saving time, hassle and needless driving around in your car. Besides, you will find other travellers’ online reviews of hotels, restaurants and attractions, so you easily can easily find out where to get the best value for your money. You can even research your destination at leisure with the many online holiday guides, complete with photos and lots of other useful information.

Try websites like www.expedia.co.uk or www.rumbo.es for flights, hotels and car hire. And www.fodors.com is excellent for getting ideas and information on where to visit and what attractions to see as well as for finding the answers to a thousand other questions about planning your trip.

Use up-to-date, lightning fast and paper free online information directories

Need a plumber urgently? Lost the phone number of an old friend? You can look up all sorts of information faster in online business and telephone directories and the information you get is surely more up to date too! There are many different business directories and other information services available. Just for starters, try the Spanish yellow pages (www.paginasamarillas.es) and telephone directory (blancas.paginasamarillas.es). Imagine the paper saving when printed directories eventually become unnecessary.

Find all you need to know using online dictionaries and encyclopaedias

On the subject of paper saving, what’s the point of having dozens of encyclopaedia volumes spanning from wall to wall if you can find more up-to-date information online for free? The same thing goes for dictionaries, whether you need to translate a word into Spanish or look up a definition. We’re sure you know about Wikipedia, but you might also want to try Microsoft Encarta Online or search dozens of specialised encyclopaedias at one go on www.encyclopedia.com. Try www.dictionary.com for definitions and www.wordreference.com for translating from and to any of several languages.

Music and Films the greener way

Using software such as iTunes, you can legally download the music of your choice for very low fees. You can enjoy your songs on your computer or MP3 player and don’t have to burn them on CD if you don’t use that format, thus saving on plastic and paper. It may not sound like much, but when it comes to the environment every little bit counts!

Besides, more and more movie production firms are offering the possibility to download movies online, and in a nearby future, you will be able to watch worldwide TV channels directly through the Internet. No more late night trudging to your local movie rental and, worse still, having to make the trip again the next day to return the DVD means more potential fuel savings.

And don’t forget to share your own ideas for using the Internet to be greener by dropping us a note in our comments section!

Up until now, if you lived in a rural part of Spain and wanted to enjoy a good, fast ADSL broadband internet connection from your home, you were out of luck! You either accepted Telefonica’s offer of 512Kbps ADSL for the price of their faster ADSL connections, or nothing! And worst of all, you had no way of getting free calls to all fixed lines in Spain like you can in town.

Now, despite the fact that Telefonica has been fighting tooth and nail to retain the monopoly on its rural ADSL infrastructure in Spain and block out all other Spanish telecommunications operators, Direct Telecom has finally gained access!

We are very happy to finally be able to offer you a choice of top quality ADSL broadband connections to your country home in Spain at speeds of up to 4 Megabits per second! And free national telephone calls to fixed lines too!

What is the difference between an ordinary ADSL and a Rural ADSL?
Hundreds of clients have contacted us to contract our ordinary ADSL service, but were dissapointed to find that their Telefónica landline was classed as “Rural ADSL Zone” when we check for ADSL network coverage.  Until now, the ADSL connection could only be ordered with Telefónica until now.
In principle there is not much difference other than the backbone technology used to provide you with ADSL access, but it is still necessary to have a Telefónica landline in order to be able to contract the Rural ADSL service with Direct Telecom.

How do I know if I am in the “Rural ADSL” area or not?
Contact us on 902 107 111, and we can tell you as we can check this in our systems.
If you do not have a Telefónica landline and require Internet access, check to see if you are in our wireless area.
Take a look at our price list and see for yourself how Direct Telecom always offers you the best choice of services to suit all needs and budgets:

We are also introducing a special flat rate Internet service called Direct Dial-Up 24/7 for those rural areas still not covered by the broadband ADSL infrastructure. This will cost just 19.50€ / month.

We would also like to remind you of our lightning fast 4 Megabit and 8 Megabit ADSL Internet connection services specially tailored for businesses in urban areas. These cost 89.90€ and 119€ a month respectively.

These services are just another example of how, at Direct Telecom, we are constantly trying to offer all our customers a wider choice and value for money. No matter who you are or where you live!

Contact us now for more information!

Due to the high demand of many of our thousands of clients, Direct Telecom has developed a service that will simply make life easier and especially satisfy clients who are constantly on the move and particularly the ‘swallows’.
The service in question is essentially a “call divert feature” that will automatically divert the calls you receive on your normal landline at home to an external number of your choice and simultaneously benefit from Direct Telecom’s extra Low Cost VoIP rates.  This service is in fact already available to all Direct Telecom’s ADSL clients as it is an imbedded feature of our ADSL Internet equipment.  Whereas Telefónica will charge you their standard international rates plus the connection charge to divert a call, with Direct Telecom’s ADSL & call divert feature, you will not be charged for the call connection charge and the price for the call divert to your mobile or UK landline will be charged at very low VoIP rates! 
For example, if you are back in the UK for a few days, or 3 months, you can set your ADSL Router to divert all the calls over VoIP to your UK landline or mobile.  As far as the caller is concerned, they are not even aware that you are away as you will be able to take the call from your UK phone as if you were in Spain.
The only cost involved for you is the VoIP call from your home to the telephone number you have chosen.  If you decide to divert the call to your UK landline, the call would cost you only 2.6 cts/min or even 1.48 cts/min if you contract the “VoIP Smart” call plan.  This is undoubtedly the best way to stay in contact while you are away, and can be particularly interesting for businesses or individuals working from home….no one needs to know you are not in your office!
If you do not yet have Direct Telecom’s ADSL Broadband with this feature packed equipment and service, then this is an excellent reason to get it now!

Direct Telecom is growing, and is doing so at a faster rate than was initially expected thanks to our solid client fidelity and service recommendations.  Although many telecoms companies are struggling and suffering from competition with never ending price cuts, Direct Telecom’s expansion programme aims to double the existing client data base by the end of the year, and is already ahead of its target.

If you run a computer shop, telecommunications outlet or similar business, you can now share in Direct Telecom’s outstanding success! We are looking for Affiliate Resellers to promote our ADSL Broadband Internet and VoIP Low Cost Call service, as well as the award-winning FRITZ!Box Router in return for very attractive commissions.

Don’t pass up the chance to bring an exciting range of alternative telephony and Internet services to your clients! Rock-bottom rates on international calls and top quality broadband Internet at substantial savings. Just what they are looking for!

When you join us as a Direct Telecom Affiliate Reseller, we will provide you with all the tools and information you need to offer our services to your clients, including our own billing system with which you can keep track of your Direct Telecom clients. And of course, we will help and support you every step of the way, to make sure that this venture is an absolute success.

If you are interested in becoming a Direct Telecom Affiliate Reseller we want to hear from you right away! Please contact us for more information.

As usual, news from Telefónica never seems to be as favourable for the consumer as we would like it to be.  Early on in January, the Telecom’s giant announced that their general rates will be increased by 3.7% and will affect over 11 million users all over the country.  This raise will increase the cost of the monthly line rental fee for all owners of a Telefónica landline by 2% increase, and all national call rates will be increased by 3.7%. It seems only clients with certain contract conditions and additional calling plans may be unaffected, but I wonder what the chances are in qualifying!
It is now a better time than ever to join Direct Telecom.  Before the increase in rates, our clients were already saving over 80% in comparison with Telefónicas rates.  Our rates remain unaffected so imagine how much more you can save now!

According to Telefónica, they can justify the increase in rates because the CMT (Comisión del Mercado de las Telecomunicaciones) has recently forced them to drastically drop the prices of the ADSL services that are sold on to the ISP’s (Internet Service Providers) in Spain.  Telefónica claims that this is a way of making up for the money they will loose by dropping the ADSL reseller prices. 

Direct Telecom’s ADSL service has proved to be a total success. Our aim is to provide quality communication services to our clients at a reduced price and this is why we are keeping a close eye on the evolution of this expected drop in ADSL prices to make sure that our clients will be the first to see the benefits.

Adding wireless capability to your PC is now easier than ever with the FRITZ!WLAN USB Stick! AVM, the manufacturers of FRITZ!Box routers have just announced this new wireless transmitter that has a host of fascinating features and simply plugs into a free USB socket on your computer.

This wireless device is the ideal companion for the FRITZ!Box Fon WLAN wireless router, making it of particular interest to both old and new Direct Telecom ADSL customers. It is also compatible with any other wireless router that supports the current IEEE 802.11b/g standards.

Fast transmission speeds

Connect at a blistering speed of up to 125 Mbits/sec with the FRITZ!WLAN USB Stick, using the latest wireless protocol (802.11g) – a 35% speed increase over its predecessor.

Maximum security

With the FRITZ!WLAN USB Stick, your wireless transmissions will be absolutely secure thanks to the WPA2 encryption standard that is considered unbreakable. Other encryption protocols (WPA and WEP) are also supported.

Easy installation

Just plug the FRITZ!WLAN USB Stick into your Windows XP operating system (Service Pack 2) and it installs itself automatically without even asking you for the driver CD – so you’re ready to connect in no time!

Even encryption can be configured automatically in seconds if you’re using the FRITZ!Box Fon WLAN router. Simply plug the FRITZ!WLAN USB Stick into your router for the encryption keys to be set up and then plug it into your PC. It’s as easy as that!

The additional control software provided makes it easy to use the more advanced options of the FRITZ!WLAN USB Stick, such as adjusting the transmission power to the minimum necessary in order to extend laptop battery life when mobile.

Compact design

All this technology is packed into a compact device just 53 millimetres long and weighing only 10 grams.

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The new FRITZ!WLAN USB Stick costs 42€ plus taxes and is available from Direct Telecom – the official FRITZ!Box distributors in Spain. It comes with software and drivers for Microsoft Windows XP Professional x64 Edition, XP, 2000, Me and 98 SE.

Please contact us for more information on how to purchase this product or become a reseller.

As soon as Direct Telecom started providing the award-winning FRITZ!Box ADSL router to our customers for use in combination with our ADSL and VoIP services, it was love at first sight! We were so impressed with the versatility and potential of this router that we agreed to become the official FRITZ!Box distributors in Spain for AVM – the German manufacturers.

If you would like to learn more about how you can offer these widely acclaimed VoIP-ready ADSL routers to your clients, simply contact us, at Direct Telecom, for more information.

Powerful internet technology that’s easy to use

As many of our customers know already, the FRITZ!Box ADSL routers are full of fascinating features and possibilities. These routers are at the forefront of modern ADSL and VoIP Internet Telephony technology, have a built-in hardware firewall for the ultimate in online security, and also come with a wireless option.

Business users will be interested to learn that the FRITZ!Box routers are fully programmable, meaning that we can pre-configure them to offer tailor-made Internet and VoIP services and functionality based on a company’s particular requirements.

At the same time, in spite of all the underlying cutting-edge technology, the FRITZ!Box routers are so simple to use that setting them up is child’s play for the end user. And that is arguably their best feature!

VoIP Internet Telephony on your normal phone

With the FRITZ!Box router, saving lots of money by making ultra-low-cost international calls over the Internet has never been easier! Once you subscribe to Direct Telecom’s VoIP Internet Telephony service, you can just plug your normal phone into the FRITZ!Box and dial away over the Internet (even when your computer is off). If only things were always that simple!

What’s more, the FRITZ!Box will intelligently manage your Internet connection to make sure that your VoIP phone calls get priority over any downloads you might have running at the same time. This means that you are guaranteed a superb voice quality on all your VoIP calls no matter what!

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With so many features packed into one neat little box, it’s no wonder that the FRITZ!Box routers have received rave reviews in countless European magazines and are revolutionising the world of Internet & Telephony communications.

Contact Direct Telecom, official distributors of the FRITZ!Box in Spain, for more information.