Path: utzoo!censor!geac!torsqnt!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!swrinde!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!casbah.acns.nwu.edu!accuvax.nwu.edu!nucsrl!telecom-request From: cmylod@oracle.nl (Colum Mylod) Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom Subject: Re: Payphones in Australia (and Elsewhere) Message-ID: <15445@accuvax.nwu.edu> Date: 14 Dec 90 09:53:40 GMT Sender: news@accuvax.nwu.edu Reply-To: Colum Mylod Organization: Oracle Europe Lines: 46 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 884, Message 7 of 10 In article <15349@accuvax.nwu.edu> brendan@munnari.oz.au writes about Aussie payphones. Seems theft there of the whole box is not unusual... >After a few years of increasing vandalism levels (especially in >Sydney) around 1986, the coin payphones were completely redesigned to >make them vandal proof. The public payphones in Syndey are now made >of 243 Stainless Steel, with the coin box door milled out of a solid >plate, and is 30 mm thick. The locking mechanism has an industrial >drill proof guard around it and has a failsafe chamber mechanism such >that any mechanism tampering results in an irreversible mechanical >lockout. The payphones in Holland are operated by the monopoly PTT Telecom, come in green boxes and work! My first experience of them was having to collect lots of one guilder coins for international calls before getting a private phone. What I will never forget is the sound made after the call was finished. To prevent the criminal element from making a living by extracting coins from the phone, all coins collected are piped down to a coinbox under the payphone. This occurs on hangup. So after a long international call all coins collected are dropped down, resulting in an audible feedback on how much the PTT has made on the call. It's also quite a shock to hear the first time. >Telecom Australia plans to introduce pre-paid card phones, similar to >those used in Europe and the UK. ^^^^^^ ^^ As Mrs T. is now out to pasture and the channel tunnel has linked up, we can now speak of the above two as one item! The cardphones in NL are also the magnetic variety with a visual indication burned in giving a %age used on the front. Personal experience of these is bad. Mostly I've found that units "disappear", i.e. an international call runs up most of the card but time*cost calculation indicates the card was eaten faster than should be the case. Payphones taking credit cards are now in use in the main airport. Usage of payphones here is quite low as private phones are much cheaper: a local call is 15ct against 20ct in a payphone. For one call a 25ct coin is the minimum you can pay. The excess doesn't go to charity... Does any country other than Switzerland charge equally for payphone and private phone calls? Colum Mylod cmylod@oracle.nl The Netherlands Above is IMHO