Prepaid phone card provider Dome Telecom has invested €250,000 in a new service that allows Limerick students cut their call costs. The service incorporates benefits such as free calls between accommodation blocks and free direct calls to taxis, pizza delivery companies and other local services.
The Century Connect phone card service has been installed in Brookfield Hall and Thomond Village student residences in Limerick, which are home to students of University of Limerick and Limerick Institute of Technology amongst others.
The unique telephones have been installed in over 400 apartments. Each apartment has its own direct number for friends and family to call rather than having to pay the higher rates charged when calling to mobile phones.
Having registered for the scheme the students will receive a rechargeable Century Connect Phone Card that can be topped up by the student or a member of his or her family by credit/laser card, cheque, bank draft or postal order. They then simply lift the handset, swipe the card and make their call to anywhere in the world.
Users of the service will receive free and unlimited calls to other apartments and buildings on the residence as well as a special phone and line rental deal for only €1 per week (€4 per month). This compares favourably with Eircom’s current rental charge of €24.18 per month. The student residents can also avail of flat call rates, as low as seven cent per minute, to any local or national landline in Ireland.
Students from abroad will also benefit hugely from Century Connect. The service offers up to 90pc savings on international calls compared to prepaid mobiles and Eircom landlines. For example calls to the UK, USA, Europe, China and Australia cost only 10 cent per minute.
The Century Connect phone card service is the latest in a series of low-cost phone services introduced by Dome Telecom. The company recently installed the similar Century Connect Bedside Telephone Service in Holles Street, Cappagh, The Coombe and Wexford Hospitals.
Speaking at the launch, Dara O’Mahony, managing director, Dome Telecom, said: “This is a great new service for Limerick students. Everyone knows that a student’s resources are limited and there always seems to be something else that has to be paid for. With this new service, students living on-campus can keep in touch with each other for free. They can make huge savings on national and international calls and they can avail of free calls to those important student institutions – pizza and taxi companies!”
By Brian Skelly
Pictured is student Inga Bredelyte from Lithuania at the launch of Dome Telecom’s Century Connect phone card service. The new service is the first of its kind in Ireland and aims to lower the call costs of Limerick students.”
