Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!ames!sun-barr!texsun!texbell!vector!telecom-gateway From: pkh%computer-science.nottingham.ac.uk@nsfnet-relay.ac.uk (Kevin Hopkins) Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom Subject: Directory Enquiries (UK) Message-ID: Date: 5 Sep 89 14:39:34 GMT Sender: news@vector.Dallas.TX.US Reply-To: K.Hopkins%computer-science.nottingham.ac.uk@nsfnet-relay.ac.uk Lines: 35 Approved: telecom-request@vector.dallas.tx.us X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@vector.dallas.tx.us X-TELECOM-Digest: volume 9, issue 355, message 3 of 5 (Originally sent on Thu, 24 Aug 89 10:36:37 +0100, but - you guessed it - the UK once again held it up - pkh.) Here's a UK view of charging for DA calls. Over here in the UK British Telecom (BT) has unsuccessfully tried to introduce charges for directory enquiry calls a few times over the last 5 or so years. The main reason that the attempts have failed is that BT only provide a phone directory book for your local area. If I have the name and address of a company in London but no phone number I will phone 192 and expect to be given the number without charge. This is the attitude of most of the people in the UK, that is why BT have been defeat on the charges for 192. Now if people were to be given a terminal linked into the whole of the UK directory enquiries database (as the French have for their database) or we were given all the UK phone books by default ( :-) then people would not mind paying for 192. The fact is that as we do not have the information provided for us by default so we expect to be given it without charge. Most people over here usually complain that BT is being immoral (yep, that's the word they use) when they try charging for 192 as there is no other source for the information 192 provides. Now, I think there is a case for charging for local directory enquires as it usually means that I am too lazy to get off my ar*e and find the phone book, though there should be a method for the operator to cancel the charge if the number I am looking for has changed/been added since the last printing of the phone directory book. 192 calls from coin boxes should still be free as the yobs have normally torn up the phone directory books to use as bog roll. We can but dream. +--------------------------------------------+--------------------------------+ | K.Hopkins%cs.nott.ac.uk@nsfnet-relay.ac.uk | Kevin Hopkins, | | or ..!mcvax!ukc!nott-cs!K.Hopkins | Department of Computer Science,| | or in the UK: K.Hopkins@uk.ac.nott.cs | University of Nottingham, | | CHAT-LINE: +44 602 484848 x 3815 | Nottingham, ENGLAND, NG7 2RD | +--------------------------------------------+--------------------------------+