Low-cost calls from your Mobile Phone – The smartest way to talk to anyone in the world, from anywhere in Spain!

May 4th, 2007

Angry at rising mobile phone call prices in Spain? Join the club!

But, trust Direct Telecom to come up with a magnificent solution for our customers in Spain – our new Low-Cost Calls from Your Mobile Phone service!

Now you can be in contact with anyone, anywhere in the world for incredibly low prices even when you’re on the move!

How’s that even possible?

Actually the way it works is quite simple. After signing up for Direct Telecom’s Low-Cost Calls from Your Mobile Phone service, you set our special number as a preferential number (or frequently called number) with your Spanish mobile operator so you can pay as little as 1.2 Euro-cents a minute to contact our Low-Cost Call system. Then you can use your mobile phone to make low-cost international phone calls through us at our rock-bottom rates! (Plus the minimal cost your operator charges you for the preferential call to us)

Simple, yes… but ingenious too!

With this unique pre-paid system, you can now make low-cost calls even if you do not own a landline in Spain.

Be in touch with colleagues, friends or loved ones abroad from your Spanish mobile phone… at any time, from wherever you are. And for a fraction of the cost of even a normal landline international call!

Contact Direct Telecom now to find out more.

No phone-line? No problem! Let Direct Telecom handle your application for you

April 25th, 2007

Those of us foreigners living in Spain are undoubtedly the envy of friends and family back home. But the joys of sun and sangria can be easily overshadowed by something as mundane as applying for a plain old telephone line with Telefonica. Unfortunately, tales abound of difficulties, frustration and a lot of wasted time – all just to be able to pick up the phone and call our loved ones!

At Direct Telecom, we are tired of hearing complaints about phone-line application woes with Telefonica, and we have decided to do something about it. We have decided to step right in and make your life easier by taking charge of your application for your Spanish telephone line with Telefonica.

That’s right! If you are a prospective customer who intends to use any of our services, (such as Low-Cost Calls in Spain, VoIP Internet Telephony in Spain or ADSL Broadband Internet in Spain) we will handle your phone-line applications and the paperwork involved for you. All you have to do is contact us and we’ll take care of the rest.

And it’s not just about helping you bridge the language barrier or simply to save you the trouble of doing it yourself!

With years of experience in the field of Spanish communications, and with our knowledge of the ins and outs of the system, we will see that you avoid the potential pitfalls that have plagued countless other applicants before you. In other words, we will make sure your Spanish phone line application with Telefonica goes smoothly and is not unduly delayed.

So, if you are about to apply for a new telephone line in Spain, take heart! With Direct Telecom, your worries are over. And what’s more, once you are using our Low-Cost Call services or VoIP Internet Telephony services, you will stand to happily save lots of money on your phone bill each month!

Are you being overcharged?

April 16th, 2007

Have you ever looked at your telephone bill from Telefonica and wondered if they had made a big mistake? ‘How can it be so high?’ you think. Then you call them or do the math yourself only to find out that not only is the bill ludicrously high, but absolutely correct too. Sad indeed!

So, exactly how much are you being overcharged each month on your phone calls and Internet?  At Direct Telecom, we can tell you to the cent!

Just show us a recent Telefonica bill and we will work out how much you would have saved if you had made those very same calls and/or accessed the Internet through Direct Telecom’s services. All you have to do is post us a photocopy of your latest Telefonica bill together with your contact details to

Direct Telecom
Edificio Eden Nº 101,
Los Cristianos, 38650
Tenerife, Spain

or fax it to us on 922 797 511 (or even bring it over to our offices). We’ll take care of the rest. And what’s more, we’ll also check your bill for any unnecessary services you may be paying for but not using – an all too common occurrence! This ‘Are you being overcharged?’ service is FREE and using it places you under no obligation to sign up with us.

However, prepare to be pleasantly surprised when you find out how much money you could be saving each month on your phone and Internet services with Direct Telecom. Maybe it’s the cost of a nice evening at the cinema… or a meal for two at your favourite restaurant… What if it’s more?

Once you have exact savings figures based on your own Telefonica bill, making the switch to Direct Telecom won’t be just a no-brainer. It will also be the smartest thing you could do!

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

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!

 

Direct Telecom now officially green

March 12th, 2007

As you may have realised from our homepage, Direct Telecom has reaffirmed its commitment to the environment and has officially gone green.

Our customers will already be aware that we exclusively use recycled, chemical-free paper for all our invoices and envelopes (and even for our other paper needs). This saves a good few trees, wastes less energy and creates less pollution. However, if you are a Direct Telecom customer, you can help us take things even further by opting for our e-mail invoicing service and doing away with paper altogether!

Call our customer care on 902 107 111 or 902 947 674 and ask us to enable e-mail invoicing on your account, and you’ll get your Direct Telecom invoices and correspondence straight into your inbox (you can also view your invoices online as usual by logging into your Direct Telecom account).

At Direct Telecom, we’re always looking for new ways to be environmentally friendly. We have set up a recycling program in our office to properly dispose of all our paper, glass and cardboard waste, in order to minimise our environmental footprint as a company. And because we are fortunate enough to work from an office that receives plenty of sunlight, we can afford to switch off our electric lighting for much of the day. Just think of 64 fluorescent light strips worth of energy saved when there is no need for the extra light!

We feel that when it comes to looking after our Planet, every little bit counts, which is why we encourage all our customers who are not already doing so to find out what they can do to help care for the environment. We’ve written a short article about being green in your own home to get you started and we’ll be also posting new ideas in the Environmental Awareness category of this blog in the future. So while you’re busy getting green yourself, watch this space!

The Internet: Coming to a fridge near you!

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?

It’s Good News Week!!

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.

Direct Telecom drops rates to mobiles again while National Mobile Operators raise rates by 25%!

February 6th, 2007

The 6th of February 2007 will be remembered as the “6-F No mobile phone day!”. Mobile phone users all over Spain tried to boycott the three main national mobile network operators Movistar, Vodafone and Orange (previously Amena), as a protest to the recent announcement of a 25% increase in rates for the call establishment fee that will take effect as from March 2007.  Over 46 Million mobile phone users will watch their call establishment fee go up to 15 cts.  The whole reason behind this sudden increase in rates is because the ”Law for improvement of protection for consumers and users” (Ley de Mejora de Protección de los Consumidores y Usuarios) have obliged the mobile operators to implement per second billing.  Until now, some operators would charge by the full minute (after the first minute) even though you may have spoken only 5 seconds.  The mobile operators claim they have to introduce an increase in the call establishment fee to make up for the loss.
On the other hand, not only do Direct Telecom’s clients pay NO call establishment fee when making calls from landlines to mobiles but the current NEW rate is 14 cts/min all day!  If you can avoid it, don’t call from your mobile.  If you need to call a mobile, make sure you have signed up with Direct Telecom, activate the mobile service and start saving even more money!

Yet another reason to join Direct Telecom as Telefónica raises rates in March 2007!

February 1st, 2007

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.

Easy, fast and secure wireless connections with the FRITZ!WLAN USB Stick

December 21st, 2006

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.

*******

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.