Path: utzoo!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!usc!sdd.hp.com!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!casbah.acns.nwu.edu!nucsrl!telecom-request From: brendan@otc.otca.oz.au Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom Subject: Re: The Great US Telephone Conspiracy Message-ID: Date: 8 Mar 91 08:15:27 GMT Sender: news@casbah.acns.nwu.edu (Mr. News) Organization: TELECOM Digest Lines: 78 Approved: Telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 11, Issue 185, Message 5 of 8 Originator: telecom@delta.eecs.nwu.edu X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu Nntp-Posting-Host: hub.eecs.nwu.edu X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu In article jimmy@icjapan.info.com (Jim Gottlieb) writes: > In article John Higdon > writes: >> If you stop to think about it, why have there >> been no attempts to establish a stored value card system for public >> telephones? They are found in a number of other countries, including >> Japan. Most Americans that I talked to there liked the system and used >> it. I do not believe that it would be rejected by the American public. > I must admit that I find the public telephone debit cards to be > convenient, and for tourists and other transients they are great. But > I disagree that America should try to emulate them. In Australia, we've have Credit Card/Debit Card payphones for over three years, and only now are Stored Value card phones being introduced. Due to Australia's widespread EFTPOS (X.25/X.400) network, Credit/Debit Card Phones have become quite common, with a penetration rate of about 10% of payphones. Hence the need for Stored Value card phones has not been great. The Creditphones are great because anyone from anywhere in the world can use them if they have an acceptable card (eg American Express and Visa). You don't need to call an operator or key in 27 digits. You just swipe your card through the reader, key in a PIN number (if your card has a PIN number) and then dial away! That also means you don't need to have a fixed phone in order to have the call billed somewhere. It's billed directly to your card. These phones also accept ATM cards from many Australian state and national banks for those who don't like using credit. Also, there is no surcharge for using these phones. There is a *minimum* charge of $1.20 per call, but it is *not* in addition to normal call charges. If the call normally costs 30c, you would get charged $1.20. If the call would normally cost $2.15, you would get charged $2.15. Hence for calls you think would cost less than $1.20, you would use a coin phone. > Telephone cards worked because telephones only take one or two types > of coins, no bills, one must continually dump coins in while one > talks, and they don't make change. Having a telephone card prevents > this hassle. In the USA, where the largest denomination coin is 25 cents, I can understand this is a problem. Australia's largest coin in $2. When you can get around 10 minutes of long distance callng time on one coin, the problem is reduced greatly. Payphones in Australia accept at least four different coins (10c, 20c, 50c and $1) and sometimes six (5c and $2 as well). > Which brings us back to the call for such a stored-value card system > for use on U.S. phones. Just like the above, I would say that we > already have a better system in place; credit cards and calling cards. I'd say the Oz system is even better - you don't need to tell an operator your credit card number over the phone to make a call. It's all done electronically via EFTPOS. Much simpler, quicker and much more secure. > Stored-value telephone cards are also popular because using one costs > no more than using cash. I call on U.S. telephone and long distance > companies to eliminate calling card and credit card surcharges. > Almost everyone has a credit card or has (or can get) a calling card. > I would never put cash in a phone again if there were no surcharge to > use my calling card. As mentioned before, Australia has no surcharge on the use of Credit Card Payphones. Brendan Jones | ACSnet: brendan@otc.otca.oz.au R&D Contractor | UUCP: {uunet,mcvax}!otc.otca.oz.au!brendan Services R&D | Phone: (02)2873128 Fax: (02)2873299 |||| OTC || | Snail: GPO Box 7000 Sydney 2001, AUSTRALIA