CLEC targets collect calls from Mexico

Genesis Communications, a local and long-distance carrier targeting the Hispanic market, introduced a service last week aimed at making it easier to call collect from Mexico to the U.S. The service, Direct Collect, allows people in Mexico to call the U.S. and speak directly to their party. The call recipient is billed at U.S.-to-Mexico rates, rather than more costly Mexico-to-U.S. rates. Typically, such calls require an operator to connect the two parties in a separate call.

Genesis' offering allows people in Mexico to call collect from a pay phone, which they could not do with conventional callback services because numbers are not listed on pay phones there. Call recipients must be Genesis customers.

Through an enhanced services platform that Genesis recently purchased from Faster Than Light, the carrier can connect the calling party in Mexico with a toll-free number system that validates the call then immediately connects and bills the U.S. party.

"There is no actual call back, so it's unique," said Genesis President and CEO Derek Gietzen. The service will work with touch-tone phones or rotary phones, which are common in Mexico, he said.

The service sounds interesting because despite a stronger focus on the Hispanic market by many telcos, few benefits have trickled down to the consumer, said Amanda McCarthy, consultant for The Yankee Group. "There are probably a lot of people interested in using a service like this, especially with its ease of use," she said.

Genesis provides service in California, Arizona, Colorado and Oregon and is expanding its network into New Mexico, Nevada and Washington.