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From: Dan_Bloch@transarc.com
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Re: The Meaning of COCOT
Message-ID: <11701@accuvax.nwu.edu>
Date: 4 Sep 90 19:16:12 GMT
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X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 10, Issue 619, Message 6 of 10


> I have been reading this newsgroup for a little while, and I see many
> messages with stuff about COCOTs in them, but I can't figure out what
> one is ... Would someone please tell me what a COCOT is?

> [Moderator's Note: COCOT = Customer Owned, Coin Operated Telephone.
> Some say it in reverse. They are the privately owned payphones you see
> springing up everywhere.

I've also been reading this newsgroup for a little while, and I'd
figured out what COCOT stands for, and I've gathered that the general
opinion on this bboard is that they're a crime against humanity.  I'm
still unclear on exactly what they can do to me, e.g. if I use one to
make a calling card call with an AT&T calling card.  So what kind of
stuff do they do?

Thanks,

Dan Bloch
dan@transarc.com


[Moderator's Note: For starters, they typically charge rates much
higher than payphones operated by telco. They rip you off on long
distance calls; they disable the keypad after you connect to a number,
making it impossible to use them when calling pagers, etc. They accept
your AT&T card for calls, pretend to connect you to an AT&T operator,
then send you an outrageous bill for the call.  PAT]