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From: cbmvax!snark.thyrsus.com!cowan@uunet.uu.net (John Cowan)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Re: More on BBSs and Phone Rates
Message-ID: <15947@accuvax.nwu.edu>
Date: 10 Jan 91 17:07:25 GMT
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X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 11, Issue 21, Message 7 of 7


[much stuff about measured vs. unmeasured service deleted]

Here in New York City, we have universal measured service.  There are
no flat-rate lines available at any price.  However, modem users don't
seem to suffer that much.  Why?

There are two main classes of service available.  One is called "timed
service" and is the classic type of measured service.  This one costs
a few bucks a month in overhead, and you then pay for all intra-LATA
calls in a time- and distance-sensitive way.  You are charged more for
the first minute of each call.

However, this option is used only by people who don't make many calls
and don't have many $$$.  The far more common option is "untimed
service".  With this service, calls within one's local calling area
(there are seven such within the LATA) are counted but not timed.  You
pay a per-call charge of about $0.10 (less the usual kinds of evening
and night discounts), no matter how long the call lasts.  For New York
City, the local calling area is the whole city; the other calling
areas in the LATA are eastern and western Long Island and various
upstate counties.

Untimed service is available only to residential customers.  BBSes are
(implicitly) treated as residential by New York Telephone; at least, I
have not heard of any problems for NYC sysops.  The difference in the
base monthly rate between timed and untimed service is only a few
dollars; both include a calling allowance of $4.

Is this compromise in use elsewhere?  Should it be?


[Moderator's Note: Good question. Is there any single method of
charging for phone service and use which everyone would be happy with?
I'd personally like to see an intermediate category of rates applied
to lines used in a non-residence/not-really-business environment.  The
really poor (financially) public services could use a break also. When
you note that The Catholic Charities of Chicago has a phone bill of
several *thousand* dollars per month, and that having that trimmed by
even a couple thousand dollars per month through a special rate would
mean a dozen more homeless people could stay off the street at night
 ... It seems obvious that we need new definitions for the types of
service used these days. Maybe 'residence' and 'business' are no
longer adequate rate categories.  PAT]