Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!csd4.milw.wisc.edu!lll-winken!netsys!vector!telecom-gateway From: decvax!decwrl!apple!zygot!john@ucbvax.berkeley.edu (John Higdon) Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom Subject: Re: Divestiture was not a mistake Message-ID: Date: 4 Apr 89 04:04:49 GMT Sender: news@vector.UUCP Organization: ATI Wares Team Lines: 30 Approved: telecom-request@vector.uucp X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@vector.uucp X-TELECOM-Digest: volume 9, issue 123, message 5 of 5 In article , eli@ursa-major.spdcc.com (Steve Elias) writes: > I don't think the answer is to allow any one company to monopolize > long distance service. If the pay phones were required to display > or speak the rates being applied, the problem would be solved by the > free market. The voice equipment necessary for such a task shouldn't > be too much -- especially for companies which charge megabucks per minute! I agree the choice may not be monopolization by one company, but our regulators must understand that free market principles do not apply to pay phones. You cannot shop from phone to phone to find the best deal or even find one that will work. By its very nature, a pay phone is a quasi-emergency device. The one you end up in front of is the one you end up with. If it rips you off, that's too bad. Even in places where you might conceivably shop around, such as an airport, one outfit has the "concession" and there is no choice. An alternative (other than declaring COCOTs a "public utility" item, to be handled only by the utility) would be to require *all* pay phones to give a choice of all carriers that are on an equal-access basis in the area with complete instructions on how to select. Pacific Bell has had phones like this in airports for years. By limiting the selection to equal-access, you would eliminate the scummy AOS people. As it is right now, if it isn't obviously a Pac*Bell payphone, I don't even slow down. If the call is *really* necessary, I pick up the handheld. -- John Higdon john@zygot ..sun!{apple|cohesive|pacbell}!zygot!john