Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!accuvax.nwu.edu!nucsrl!telecom-request From: John Higdon Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom Subject: Re: Best and Worst (was: Labor Day, 1990) Message-ID: <11895@accuvax.nwu.edu> Date: 8 Sep 90 21:13:42 GMT Sender: news@accuvax.nwu.edu Reply-To: John Higdon Organization: Green Hills and Cows Lines: 37 Approved: Telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 10, Issue 629, Message 11 of 12 Jim Breen writes: > In the best/worst voting, my opinions (based on experience) are: > BEST: Japan > WORST: India Bzzzzt! Wrong -- but thanks for playing anyway. Without getting into the "US is best" fray, I can categorically state that Japan does NOT have the worlds best telephone service, unless there are criteria that I am missing. * No itemized billing (not even for "Dial-Q", Japan's 900 equivalent) * About one out of ten calls bomb (don't go through). * Long distance within Japan "sounds" like long distance. * Digital services are just being introduced. * Outside plant is pathetic and inadequate. * Even though the system is "privatized", it is run like a government bureaucracy. * You get to hear the "meter pulses" on many calls. I don't know where the US fits on the scale, but it certainly is higher up on the food chain telephonically than Japan. Sources: close associates who live and work in Japan. John Higdon | P. O. Box 7648 | +1 408 723 1395 john@bovine.ati.com | San Jose, CA 95150 | M o o !