This week, considerable increases in the tariffs for international calls came into effect. Consumers unwilling to pay the new rates may find that "call-back" services are the answer.


According to the new MMT (Moscow Intercity Telephone) rates, calling the United States for one minute, non-peak, now costs 5,400 rubles, Europe 2,300 rubles, Asia 4,500 rubles, and Africa 6,500 rubles. Calls made in peak hours, from 8 A.M. to 8 P.M. Monday to Friday, are a further 50 percent more expensive. The rate changes mean that calls from Moscow to many foreign countries are now often more expensive than calls coming from those countries.


For companies with a large amount of international traffic, it is possible to organize bulk discounts with commercial international access providers or even to purchase a leased line for which you pay a fixed fee regardless of traffic.


But for individuals or smaller companies, "call-back" services, some of which have recently started advertising in Russia, might be a better option.


A call-back service is designed to take advantage of the differences in long distance telephone tariffs charged all over the world. The service works as follows: a user dials an access number (usually in the United States) and on hearing a distinctive ring at the other end of the line, hangs up. The call is never answered so the user incurs no charge for this initial international connection.


Every user gives his or her unique telephone number before joining the service so the computer at the other end of the line knows who called and calls back in a few seconds with a U.S. dial tone. After that the user can dial any number he wishes, and the computer will choose the most cost-effective international or interstate route for the call.


Companies which advertise these services say discounts vary from country to country and can range from 50 percent to 70 percent.


The system is not perfect. It is inflexible, as a customer's call-back number must be pre-registered so it is not possible to make your calls from anywhere other than the registered number. If you are prepared to pay a little more, it is possible to overcome this problem: some companies offer a personal identification number that can be entered along with any phone number before hanging up and waiting to be called back. All of these services have one potential drawback. National telephone operators and regulatory authorities in many countries are opposed to customers riding their phone lines for free. As a result, several countries have already outlawed such systems. There is no official line on this at the Ministry of Communications, but there is unlikely to be much warmth.


Back in 1992, for example, a call-back service based in Finland called SovAmer had its Moscow telephone lines confiscated for operating a telecommunications service on Russian territory without a license. It was never clear whether the service had actually broken any rules, but the attitude of the Ministry of Communications then was to shut them down first and ask questions later.


Given that you need to deal with a company based abroad, you should also be very cautious when choosing a service provider. Discounts and initial hook-up fees can vary a lot and it pays to shop around before committing yourself to any of these services. Once you have paid your money it could even turn out that the company is fake. There are now about 50 call-back service providers in the United States, but the Federal Communications Commission states that only three are licensed to offer the service.





Robert Farish is the editor of Computer Business Russia


Tel/Fax: (+7 095) 198 62 07, Internet e-mail: farish@glas.apc.org