Path: utzoo!telecom-request Date: Tue, 14 May 91 12:10:36 +22323328 From: irvin@northstar105.dartmouth.edu Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom Subject: Re: Is the GTE Airfone Public? Reply-To: irvin@northstar.dartmouth.edu Message-ID: Organization: TELECOM Digest Sender: Telecom@eecs.nwu.edu 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 360, Message 2 of 11 Lines: 29 In TELECOM Digest V11 #358, Moderator writes: > [Moderator's Note: I don't really see what the big deal is, > considering nearly everyone has some credit card or another which is > accepted. It might be interesting though to see them develop a coin / > paper money operated device (a lot like those vending machines at the > post office and the train station) which accept up to twenty dollar > bills into which the money could be inserted on request following the > manual connection of your call by the GTE operator. This would add a > degree of anomynity to the process for those who desired it or did not > have the cards. You would dial the operator, she would place the call > and on reaching someone would have them hold; split the connection; > get you to put in whatever you wanted for a certain number of minutes; > then connect you and cut you off (or demand more money) when the time > was up. Perhaps the airports could also sell pre-paid phone cards > like in Europe, ie you buy a card with $10 in phone credit on it and > insert that in the slot when on board. PAT] The main problem with this is that GTE doesn't want their AIRFONEs walking off the plane in someone's carry-on. So, by forcing you to use a credit card (which they lock in the base of the phone, until you return the AIRFONE) they are making it much more difficult to steal the phone. And if you do, I guess they could charge your credit card for the value (times some huge fudge factor I am sure). Tim Irvin