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SO YOU THINK YOU’VE GOT A BETTER DEAL? Discover the truth.

Friday, June 13th, 2008

It’s amazing how many times our clients call us up saying that they’ve seen a better offer for “cheaper” calls, “unlimited” minutes, “everything all on one bill” etc. Direct Telecom keeps a close eye on the “competition”, and we feel it’s about time we blew the top off some of the offers available on TV, in newspapers and from companies who cold call the unsuspecting client.

 

Offer 1. 3MB ADSL + National land line calls + Line rental for 29.95€. Sound’s too good to be true? Well, it is. The 29.95€ is for the first month only, then the price increases to 36.95€. The line rental offer is subject to geographic location, and – surprise, surprise – extremely restricted. If you live next to the telephone exchange in Madrid or Barcelona, you may be in with a shout. Oh yes, and this offer is only available to the first 10,000 applicants daft enough not to read the small print! Oh, and be sure to check out their international call rates too.

 

Offer 2. Up to 20MB ADSL + Line rental + National Calls for just 9.90€ a month (until October). Admittedly, the small print does say that after that time, the price will be 39.90€ per month. Follow the link and you’ll see that in many areas, the maximum speed available is 3MB, and in so-called “rural” areas, you may get no coverage at all. That’s not all – To use your ADSL, you will be expected to pay 2€ per day where your account shows internet traffic, yes! 2€ PER DAY, up to a maximum of 28€ in the month. This means that should you connect daily, your bill will approach 50€ per month. You are also tied to an 18 month agreement, and pay for your router too! And then let’s look at the call charges. Remember, no VoIP here. Connection charges of 11.9 cent, then Europe, the USA and Canada at 8 cent a minute, and a staggering 54 cent a minute for “the rest of the world”. So yes, you probably could save if you never used your internet and never made international calls, but then life would be just boring!

 

Offer 3. 3MB ADSL + National land line calls for a whole 12 months for just 25.90€ per month. This is a good one – it is ONLY for brand new land line applications. If you already have a land line, you don’t qualify, and your price for the same deal will be 40.90€ per month, just the same as it always was! And again, no super low international call rates.

 

Offer 4. Unlimited calls to the UK for just 12.99€ per month. Once again, if you sign up online and simply tick the “I have read and understand the terms and conditions” box, you won’t realize that you have just limited your calls to 350 minutes a month, land lines only. Now, let’s do the sums:
12.99€ / 350 = 3.7 cent a minute

almost half a cent per minute more than Direct Telecom’s traditional telephone rate, where you only pay for the minutes you use.

 

Offer 5. Unlimited internet access for 4.50€ a month. We love this one! Of course it’s unlimited – they want you to be dialing the internet all day every day, thinking it’s only costing you 4.50€ a month. It’s not! You pay a local call charge and a connection fee every time you log on. Let’s say you are online for half an hour a day (praying that your favourite pages will load up in time, and that the email attachment of 5MB you were looking forward to doesn’t take too long to open!). You’ve paid 4.50€ already, plus 30 calls of 30 minutes duration, that’s 30 connection fees of 6 cent and 900 minutes costing around 1 cent a minute. Suddenly your 4.50 becomes 15.30€ - not so attractive now, is it? With Direct Telecom’s dial up internet, there really is no limit to how long you can be online, so for 19.50€ you can rest assured that’s all you’ll pay, even if you stay logged on all day.

 

If you’re tempted by the tantalizing offers, remember:

 

READ THE SMALL PRINT!

 

If you simply can’t resist:

 

READ THE SMALL PRINT AGAIN!

 

And if you still have to try, we’ll be glad to have your business back when your bills go through the roof!

 

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GlobalFone.es - Llamadas Internacionales de bajo coste ¡desde su Móvil!

Friday, June 6th, 2008

Es un placer para nosotros poder anunciar el lanzamiento de nuestro nuevo servicio GlobalFone que por fin le da la oportunidad al usuario móvil para realizar llamadas internacionales a bajo coste desde su propio teléfono móvil.
En España reside y trabaja una gran cantidad y variedad de extranjeros que necesitan contactar con sus amigos y familiares en sus países de origen. Asimismo, hay personas que por motivos de su trabajo necesitan poder realizar llamadas internacionales desde su propio móvil. Esta claro que actualmente nos cuesta una fortuna y todos buscamos una solución.
Afortunadamente, el equipo de desarrollo de Direct Telecom (Powered by VoIP Direct) ha creado el servicio GlobalFone.  Gracias a GlobalFone, ahora es posible realizar llamadas prácticamente a precio de locutorio desde nuestro móvil actual, sea del operador que sea (operador móvil en España).
Al registrar su número móvil con GlobalFone será posible por ejemplo llamar a la gran mayorí­a de Europa por sólo 0.033 €/min, Argentina y Venezuela por 0.039 €/min, Colombia por 0.055 €/min, Brasil 0.049 €/min, Paraguay y Uruguay por 0.088 €/min y todo SIN establecimiento de llamada.


¿Como funciona? Una vez registrado su numero móvil, llamara a un numero de conexión en Madrid.  Nuestro sistema reconoce su número y le dará tono de llamada con el cual podrá realizar su llamada internacional.
¿Mi operador Móvil que me cobra?  Aquí­ esta la clave para que este sistema le sea lo más barato posible ya que su operador móvil le cobrará la llamada nacional al número nuestro en Madrid.  Lo ideal es conseguir contratar un plan y/o asignar nuestro número de conexión como un número “favorito” para que la llamada desde su móvil a nuestro número de conexión le cueste el mí­nimo.  Por ejemplo, con Vodafone podemos contratar el plan Vitamina 60×1, con el cual pagamos por 1 minuto y hablamos 60.  Esto funciona perfectamente con GlobalFone ya que sólo pagar a Vodafone 0.35 € para hablar la hora completa, y GlobalFone le cobrará únicamente la cantidad de minutos que ha hablado con su destino.  Para hablar 50 minutos con muchos países Europeos tendr­á un coste TOTAL de sólo 1.99‚€.

En resumen, tenemos a su disposición una solución para ahorrar mucho dinero a la hora de realizar llamadas internacionales desde su propio móvil.  Ahora podrá realizar llamadas con tarifas de locutorio ¡desde su móvil y en cualquier parte!

¿Que tengo que hacer para utilizar GlobalFone?
Muy sencillo.  Visite http://direct.online-manager.co.uk/NewCustomer.asp?lang=espanol y regí­strese como cliente gratis.  Registre su número móvil y agrega crédito mediante tarjeta de débito, crédito y/o Pay Pal.

Una vez esta registrado como cliente, podrá entrar en su cuenta online y añadir más móviles a su cuenta (utilizarán su crédito) o podrá agregar más saldo a su cuenta cuando le haga falta.

¿Donde puedo ver una lista completa de tarifas internacionales?
Visite http://direct.online-manager.co.uk/callrates.asp

¿Donde puedo encontrar más información sobre GlobaFone?
Visite http://castellano.direct-telecom.es/llamadas-internacionales-desde-su-movile.asp
También nos puede llamar al 902 51 28 30 para cualquier duda o aclaración.
¡Que lo disfruten!

 

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New BT Mobile service in Spain with Direct Telecom as authorised agents

Friday, April 11th, 2008

The moment we’ve all been waiting for has finally arrived!

Direct Telecom is now proud to offer you the new BT Mobile service in Spain, as one of the very few authorised agents chosen to represent BT in the country. Needless to say, we are delighted to add this exciting, new mobile phone service to our range of value-for-money telecommunications deals – another big step in our ongoing quest to offer you the best communications alternatives at the best prices.

According to Spanish law, mobile operators must share their infrastructure and the BT Mobile service in Spain runs on the Vodafone network, which has the most powerful and extensive coverage in the country. This makes BT Mobile in Spain a powerful mobile phone operator in its own right, and means that you can now enjoy a top quality mobile phone service in Spain at very competitive rates.

FREE mobile phones for our BT Mobile clients

But there’s more good news in store! All our new mobile phone clients and those of you who switch to BT Mobile from another operator will get a FREE new mobile phone courtesy of Direct Telecom. And, of course, you can keep your old mobile number when you switch to BT Mobile in Spain.

Still, the best part of the BT Mobile deal has to be the exceptionally low across-the-board rates of 10 Euro cents per minute, together with the BT 10 choice of call plans that will allow you to save even more by enjoying a mobile phone service tailored to your needs. There are special calling plans covering internal calls to phones on the same contract, national landlines, and more, even including international calls.

With your BT Mobile subscription from Direct Telecom, you can also browse the Internet while on the move, thanks to the two great data packages on offer. The standard Internet price plan is activated by default for all BT Mobile clients and is ideal for occasional mobile Internet browsing, while regular data users can enjoy the best rates with the Internet Premium package.

Click here for full information and prices of our mobile calling plans and mobile Internet service (PDF).

Make the change – Enjoy the difference!

If you’re tired of the same old mobile phone operators in Spain and think that there ought to be something better out there, the new BT Mobile service is just the alternative you’ve been waiting for.

Get ready to enjoy the difference in both quality of service and substantial savings on your mobile calls month after month. Contact Direct Telecom now for full details and information and to sign up to this exciting brand new BT Mobile service.

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Unjust ‘canon digital’ tax extended to mobile phones in 2008

Tuesday, January 15th, 2008

It’s just as easy to fall head-over-heels in love with Spain as it is to be stunned by some of the country’s peculiarities. The bone of contention this time is nothing to do with bullfighting, but is the so-called canon digital, a controversial tax on any media and gadgets that can be used to make copies of intellectual property. Since the 1st of January 2008 this tax is also applicable to the purchase of new mobile phones, mp3 players and other digital hardware.

The canon digital came into being in 1987 as a way to collect money that is then used to compensate authors, editors, songwriters, musicians and so on for private copies people make of their intellectual property. This money goes to the General Society of Authors and Editors, (Sociedad General de Autores y Editores in Spanish) and other Spanish intellectual property owners’ organisations for distribution to its members.

However, this unjust tax has many vociferous opponents, which include consumer organisations and manufacturers. These are quick to point out that the tax is most because the equipment being taxed is not necessarily used to make copies of copyrighted works, but is often used by both private individuals and companies to store their own personal data. After all, why should you be taxed on the CDs you will use to save your holiday snapshots on?

While the latest revision of the law that took effect on the 1st  Jan 2008 has actually reduced the canon digital on CDs and DVDs, this tax has started to be levied on other digital hardware. For example, there is now an applicable tax of €1.50 on mobile phones and €3.15 on MP3 players, VAT not included. That’s right! Consumers must pay VAT on their unjust tax too!

All this sounds even more bizarre in the light of the fact that just over a year ago, a Spanish judge controversially ruled that downloading music from the Internet is legal as long as you do not make money from it.

No wonder the pro-canon digital lobbyists keep pushing for the tax to be extended to ADSL connections too! Luckily for all of us, so far the title of this article which appeared in El Pais in 2005 still holds true: Hard disks and ADSL excluded from the canon digital! (article in Spanish)

While Spain’s politicians battle over this issue as the forthcoming elections approach, many consumers have decided to take action. Visit www.TodosContraElCanon.es for more information in Spanish.

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NEW Rate reduction for the NEW YEAR from Direct Telecom!

Monday, December 31st, 2007

Down yet again? Yes, Direct Telecom has slashed their normal phone rates from 3.9 cents a minute to an incredibly low rate of 3.3 cents a minute.

Commercial Director Mike Broeckaert reports “after the most successful year ever our national Telecoms company Direct Telecom has been able to reduce its international rates once again. At 3.3 cents a minute you can dial most of Europe and many parts of the world; – at our rates that is 1 whole hour for less than 2 Euros! And still no connection charge. All Direct Telecom clients will start saving even more on their phone bills as from January the 1st 2008, and new clients can jump on board right away to take advantage of the new rate reduction for calls made from your ordinary landline.
Although the technology race continues unabated, Direct Telecom keep their nose ahead of the pack. While giants like Telefónica are putting up their rates, charging connection fees and offering a second class service we are not surprised people are turning to us. Direct Telecom’s rates are valid all day - every day of the week, so be aware of the small print with other firms who offer reduced rates only on certain days and charge high rates outside this time period.

ADSL – FREE 1st month promotion EXTENDED until 31st of January 08.
Due to the high demand and success of the ADSL promotion, Direct Telecom has decided to extend the offer. If you thought you have missed out, call now to sign up to Direct Telecom’s ADSL service and get your 1st month subscription for FREE!
The technology provided allows our clients to make even cheaper calls using their ordinary phones to make international VoIP calls from as little as 1.48 cts/min! These prices beat Skype’s or MSN’s rates hands down and there is even no need to turn on the PC to use our VoIP.


Faster ADSL – Up to 20MB
Even our ADSL service is at full stretch with the demand” says Mike, with up to 20Mb speed now available (subject to availability) and with free national calls included.

Swallows? Yes, we can cater for swallows – connecting and disconnecting their Internet connection on request giving an additional money saving services to clients using the Direct Dial UP 24/7 Internet connection.
“2008 is already looking good” says Mike “we are constantly increasing our staffing levels to keep up with customer demand and service. We have several new exciting projects on the drawing board” he says “but we are focused on customer demand and service at all times. This is our main strength. We also offer businesses the latest technology in telephone services with our ‘Virtual Receptionist’ and Business VoIP Solutions – but more about that on request”. Direct Telecoms can also provide customers with low cost calls FROM the UK to Spain, your family and friends in the UK can dial you from as little as 3 pence/min. Another way to save!

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Maggie Lennard – “On Board” Direct Telecom

Wednesday, October 10th, 2007

 

 

 

Maggie Lennard has recently been invited to join the Board of Directors at Direct Telecom. “What a combination says Barrie Wainwright” CEO of Direct Telecom.  “Maggie Lennard joined us only two years ago as Accounts Manager – a job that Maggie was well qualified for – with a B.A. Hons. in Mathematics. Maggie has also worked as a Maths Teacher, Compère and Radio Presenter. Well known and respected throughout the Canaries for her bubbly personality and wit Maggie soon got to grips with the Direct Telecom’s ever increasing client platform handling all the accounts”  “Apart from helping to produce the first on-line programme for clients to access their own billing records” says Barrie “Maggie was also involved in the launch of Direct Telecom’s ADSL Broadband service – in direct competition to the bigger players in the Telecoms market. I had known Maggie for some time” he says “and when she applied for the vacancy I realized her potential would be an enormous asset to the company and this has now proven to be the case as demonstrated by her elevation to Director level”.  “Maggie’s energy will now assist in leading the Company to even greater levels - Direct Telecom has the best customer service in Spain which is reflected in the praise received from our clients, and I as CEO am particularly proud of all the employees of Direct Telecom, the joint teamwork has lead to an excellent atmosphere in the office”. Maggie says “I was delighted when Barrie approached me with the offer of a seat on the board; I had put all my energy into increasing Direct Telecom’s turnover, whilst managing to reduce some of our key rates, and continue to ensure that Direct Telecom remains competitive in an increasingly cut throat business.” So what does the future hold for Direct Telecom? Maggie adds, “We are currently in negotiation with several companies and will soon be able to offer WiFi internet access to clients who live in remote areas of Spain, and therefore cannot connect in the usual way, this also includes people who don’t have a land line. More good news is that many of our ADSL clients’ connections are being upgraded to 3MB now - or in the very near future.” And for those who don’t have or want the internet? Maggie says, “So many people only have mobiles these days, and we should have some very exciting news soon regarding low cost mobile rates from Direct Telecom.”www.direct-telecom.es     

  

 

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Mrs Reader from Adeje said:

Wednesday, October 3rd, 2007

I have been pestered in recent weeks by telecommunications companies “cold calling”. I always tell them to get lost because Direct Telecom gives me a first class service, and I don’t care what their “offer of the month” is they can’t compete with your service.

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Free El Corte Ingles shopping voucher or DT credit when you sign up a friend!

Friday, March 30th, 2007

Direct Telecom’s fantastic ‘Recommend a Friend’ reward scheme has just got better!

Many of our customers already know how it works. For every friend of yours we sign up, you get 20€ free credit in your Direct Telecom account – or, if you are an ADSL subscriber and your friend gets ADSL too, you get a whole month’s subscription for free!

Now we’re taking things one step further! Direct Telecom are teaming up with the El Corte Ingles superstore chain to offer you the choice of an El Corte Ingles shopping voucher for the value of your reward, instead of phone credit or a month of free ADSL.

El Corte Inglés / Direct Telecom

These El Corte Ingles shopping vouchers never expire, so you can use them at your leisure. And what’s more, they can be used again and again for multiple purchases until the total value is spent! So you can pay for a coffee at the El Corte Ingles snack bar with your voucher one day… and buy whatever else with the remaining shopping credit whenever you like.

And the best news is there’s absolutely no limit how many El Corte Ingles shopping vouchers (or how much Direct Telecom credit) you can get! The more friends you sign up with Direct Telecom, the bigger your reward.

If you have one or more friends who could be interested in our Low-Cost Calls or Internet services, just ask for their permission and let us have their details so we can contact them on your behalf. Simply print and fill out our Recommend a Friend form and post or fax it to us. Our contact details are on the form.

So, what are you waiting for? Help your friends save money on their phone or Internet bills with Direct Telecom and enjoy our fabulous rewards!

 

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The Internet: Coming to a fridge near you!

Thursday, March 1st, 2007

Just about everyone is getting connected to the Internet nowadays. In the not-so-distant future it will be a case of just about everything being online. That’s right! Before you know it, even your ordinary household appliances will be wired to the Internet to provide you with a whole host of new features and benefits you may have never imagined before.

Do you hate the tedious shopping for groceries? Well, you can already do it online in Spain with Mercadona and get your shopping delivered to your door in a few clicks. But how about a fridge and larder that know what you’ve used up this week and use their built-in wireless connection to connect to the Internet via your router and automatically place a restocking order with the supermarket? Imagine that!

Now stop imagining. They’re almost round the corner!

At Direct Telecom, we are fully aware of the ways the Internet is evolving and where the future is going. We spend a lot of time and money keeping up with the most current developments in the online world, so that we can continue to offer our customers an Internet service that will allow them to do whatever they want.

Just one example that springs to mind is that our ADSL broadband service is fully compatible with the PlayStation 3, Xbox and the Nintendo Wii gaming consoles, allowing you to easily extend your competitive gaming to the online world. We also are working on a future service that will offer you fast movie downloads, straight to your home, so you can be watching that film in no time and without even leaving your living room. And of course you probably already know about our very popular VOIP telephone service that allows you to save lots of Euros by making calls over the Internet using your normal phone. Well, that’s just the beginning!

At Direct Telecom, we see a future where there will be an Internet connection in every home – just like everyone has an electric supply and running water today. Imagine turning on your oven from your desk at work so your food is cooked and waiting for you nice and hot by the time you arrive home. Who wouldn’t love that?

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It’s Good News Week!!

Friday, February 23rd, 2007

Yes! believe it or not, it is still Good News Week. OK, Telefonica have ruffled even more feathers in responding to the pressure of competition by raising their national call rate by 3.7% and their monthly line rental charge by 2%, while the 3 main National mobile networks operators: Movistar, Vodafone and Orange, are actually inciting a mass National boycott on March 1st in response to an increase in their ‘call establishment fees’ by 25%!!.

In contrast Direct Telecom, who not only charge NO call establishment fee at all from landlines to mobiles, but who can also access the lowest possible rate of 14 cts/min all day everyday when ringing Spanish mobiles from a landline, have responded to customer demand by expanding!

Established 10 years ago, building a healthy reputation for its professionalism, reliability, excellent service and of course the unbeatable low cost call rates reducing clients’ call costs by an amazing 80%, Direct Telecom have now grown into a National multi-technology company that invests heavily in research to bring clients, both domestic and corporate, the very latest technological solutions from the very cutting edge of technology.

“Naturally, as a National company with the majority of our clients in Mainland Spain (and growing), as well as in all the islands, we still continue to offer the very lowest call rates to both landlines and Spanish mobiles,” commented Mike Broeckaert, Direct Telecom’s Managing Director. “Now, we are excited to be able to offer tailor made solutions to all our clients’ connection needs, with our award winning ADSL router, offering FREE National calls and International VoIP calls to landlines from as little as 1.48 cts/min. and as a result of recent research, Direct Telecom is now also at the forefront of Wireless Internet Broadband.”

Mike enthusiastically expands on the subject, “Wireless Networks are an excellent alternative where no landline is available, or there is no ADSL coverage to a particular landline. By using our state of the art, tried and tested, Fritz! Box Router, we are able to bring both broadband and telephony where it was previously unavailable. A miracle, especially on the islands and in the South of Mainland Spain. All clients will need is an electricity supply and they could be on line from March 2007; we expect our switch-board to be jammed!”

To accommodate this expansion of the business which reflects the growth of the team, its product range and services, Direct Telecom has taken over the adjoining office while recruiting more specialised staff in all areas.

On a cautionary note, it has been brought to our attention that once again a number of relatively new companies are vying for new business, and will stop at almost nothing to succeed; making extravagant claims and offers that we, as an established and reputable company are skeptical of. In our experience, the majority of these companies are out to try and make “a quick buck”, and invariably leave their clients high and dry, and, as usual, end up disappearing.

All in all, the future is looking bright for Direct Telecom, who believe the secret of their success lies in their ability to invest in research which ensures that they stay one step ahead, while not forgetting their highly motivated team who continue to offer a warm, friendly, multi-lingual service with a high standard of expertise.

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