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From: wolfson@mot.com (Steve Wolfson)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Re: Japanese Payphones
Message-ID: <16384@accuvax.nwu.edu>
Date: 24 Jan 91 15:41:36 GMT
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X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 11, Issue 64, Message 9 of 10


Craig R. Watkins writes:

> Sandy Kyrish writes:

>In article <16278@accuvax.nwu.edu>, 0003209613@mcimail.com (Sandy
>Kyrish) writes:

>> returning Japanese tourists buy them when they realize they have no
>> Japanese money with which to make phone calls when they land in their
>> own country.

>I saw them being sold in a gift store on Oahu (in the Polynesian
>Cultural Center).  I seem to remember a big display with interesting
>pictures on them, sort of like postcard pictures (although I don't
>recall the exact content of the pictures).

Actually they may be selling them as souveniers.  There was a recent
article in {Business Week} (I can't find the exact issue) about the
Japanese use of calling cards.  A collectors market has sprung up for
these cards and NTT has managed to end with with a fairly hefty hunk
of change from cards that are purchased but not used.  The article
also mentioned that these type of cards may become used for items
other than payphones.  Like everywhere else there is talk of
standardization of these cards and concerns that this would create a
new alternative "electronic" currency that doesn't fit within standard
banking laws.