Stratos, in association with Inmarsat, introduced an enhancement to its popular Crew Calling Cards service, its Crew Hours which are now increased from 4 hours per day to 10 hours per day on weekdays, as well as all weekend long.  
 
Stratos crew calling cards have been very popular with maritime users, as they do not include surprise charges, such as connection costs or start up fees, hold-time charges, or charges for unanswered calls.  
 
For all calls placed between 20:00 GMT and 06:00 GMT on weekdays and during all day on Saturdays and Sundays (crew hours), Stratos crew calling card users will be charged only 6 units per minute instead of 10 units (a 40% discount). When a 150-unit card is used during the discounted hours, will give its user not 15 minutes worth of airtime but 25 minutes at the same cost.  
 
Mr. Kevin Cheeseman, Stratos Channel Development Executive, Middle East and Africa, said ” We trust that the majority of shipping companies will take the advantage of this special offer, enabling crew members to stay in touch with friends and family on land at the lowest possible cost, without the need for complicated billing and accounting processes.”