Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!usc!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!swrinde!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!casbah.acns.nwu.edu!accuvax.nwu.edu!nucsrl!telecom-request From: john@bovine.ati.com (John Higdon) Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom Subject: Re: Rates For Sent-Paid Coin Calls Message-ID: <15907@accuvax.nwu.edu> Date: 8 Jan 91 19:59:09 GMT Sender: news@accuvax.nwu.edu Reply-To: John Higdon Organization: Green Hills and Cows Lines: 29 Approved: Telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 11, Issue 19, Message 3 of 9 Steve Forrette writes: > but sent-paid AT&T from a Bell phone was $1.95 for the same first > minute! Doesn't that seem a bit high? I would imagine it would be > higher than direct dial from home, but more than double the calling > card rate? I mean, I'm paying cash up front, am I not? No credit If you check that again, you will probably find that the initial coin rate is for three minutes, not one minute. For a while, coin-paid calls had an initial one minute rate and it was changed back to three minutes "for your convenience". The explanation was that most calls lasted at least that long and they wanted to minimize the additional deposit requests. Actually, it undoubtedly enhanced revenues in that larger amounts could be collected for short calls. In any event, I also have always questioned the higher rates for coin-collected calls. The stock explanation is that you are paying for the instant convenience of making a call without prior arrangement. (Someone has to pay to maintain the phone.) So apparently, you are paying for convenience, and the lack of credit risk is irrelavent. Not that I buy any of that, but that is the reasoning. Tomorrow I leave for Japan. It will be interesting to observe first-hand how they handle coin phones there. John Higdon | P. O. Box 7648 | +1 408 723 1395 john@bovine.ati.com | San Jose, CA 95150 | M o o !