Regardless of the impact of brisk competition, regulation, and ever-changing technologies, the prepaid call card industry still continues to enjoy brisk sales and a sees a brighter future.

The major prepaid distributors are producing better, and more efficient cards that are getting more attractive with extra add-on services. The marketing strategies of prepaid firms are gaining more sophistication, and flashy advertising is being employed to attract the consumer's attention. Even in a fledgling industry with less than two decades under its belt, brand name awareness and reputation plays an important role.

According to an industry-related strategy and customized research consultancy firm, the growth of the prepaid industry from 2002 to 2008 will be quite less than 10 percent in compounded annual growth rates (CAGR). An industry analyst quotes that the traditional international calling card market will attain the most growth, getting revenues from international calls.

Since ethnic groups in the US continue to grow, the prospects for compact and medium-sized prepaid companies are good. Specializing in a single ethnic market can be rewarding, as proven by some small start-ups, focusing mostly on the Asian market, with a keen eye on China, the most populous nation on earth.

However, as the prepaid card industry continues to grow, it is inevitable that more distribution and marketing methods would evolve to adapt to new market layers and future technologies. As these strategies begin to take hold, the industry will become more diverse and wider, by offering new strategies, marketing methods and even greater opportunities.

For the past five years, pre-paid phone cards have gone from a niche business to a really large one, generating $3 billion in annual sales, with the cost of making a call with one of these cards plummeting largely. The future would definitely look bright for the international prepaid business, according to prepaid industry insiders and analysts.

If you have taken a close look at your recent overseas phone bills, you probably may have noticed the rates going up. However, you use a pre-paid phone card, you would be spending as little as 3 cents a minute for long-distance calls and not more than that when you call overseas. There is good evidence that the global prepaid calling cards of the past have evolved into the future. These newer, more cost-efficient cards have greatly lower rates than mobile phones and standard phone lines.

Globalization has also increased the need for international prepaid phone cards, and so thus would the potential be for businesses that engage in this market. Now, more people need to call overseas to conduct their business, social or family affairs. Thru prepaid phone calling cards, folks overseas can do so easily without spending too much.

However cheap the current rates, callers need not have to sacrifice quality for quantity, and there are no requirements for a long- term commitment when using these cards. And best of all, these new arrays of international prepaid phone cards come with many handy features such as pin-less dialing, make using global prepaid calling cards even more convenient, and also make prospective businessmen beam with glee, for the cheaper the cards, the bigger would their expected profits be.

Vanessa Arellano Doctor