stevel@eleazar.dartmouth.edu (Steve Ligett) (03/16/91)
I'm gathering information for our school board. We would like to have a pay phone in our school. It would be primarily for local calls made during times that the school building is open, but the office is not. For example during town meetings, school board meetings, sports events, etc. It would not be used during the school day, and could be hooked up to use one of the existing lines. Neither the phone company nor the local COCOT company are interested since it won't bring them much revenue. I know that COCOTs are not popular in this group, but this seems like a reasonable use for one. We'd label it to make sure that folks weren't fooled into thinking it's a normal pay phone, including a note like "Go to the Lyme Store or Nichol's Hardware for cheaper calls." What do you think? Is this a good idea? Where/how do I buy such a phone? How much do they cost? Is there another way to do this? Please reply by mail or post as you see fit. I used to read the telecom group regularly, but I don't any more. I'll keep an eye on it for a while now (and I did check that this isn't answered in current articles). Thanks! steve.ligett@dartmouth.edu or ...!dartvax!steve.ligett
Barton.Bruce@camb.com (Barton F. Bruce) (03/17/91)
In article <telecom11.209.5@eecs.nwu.edu>, stevel@eleazar.dartmouth. edu (Steve Ligett) writes: > I'm gathering information for our school board. We would like to have > a pay phone in our school. It would be primarily for local calls made Here in MA, NET & T will put in a phone in other than truely public places, BUT someone pays a monthly charge to have it there. I think that after the volume reaches some level consistantly, it can be reclassed and is free. If you have UNLIMITED local calling (no per call and no message units) available, and you have some trunks that are screened (no 0+ type LD billable to you will work, but 0+ billed elsewhere [CC, Collect, or 3rd party] will and 1+ will), set your switch to route that station to screened trunks for local or 0+ calls, and to disallow 1+. GIVE the call away - it costs you nothing. Possibly have a vanilla time clock that cuts the line except in the off hours it is really needed. If the access time is only school committee meetings and other selected evenings, and the total hours of availability are SO few, it may well just make sense to GIVE local calls away if you can otherwise prevent any toll abuse. The cost of a coin phone might NEVER be recovered, and the hassle and expense of keeping it working is simply not worth it. Have the building's PBX handle keeping them local. Have the SMDR output keep track of expenses and simply try it for a while. If you have no PBX, there are relatively inexpensive toll diverters that can be wired between this phone and some office line you use. Or add an honor box for dimes or quarters. Have a sign that means it that says significant loss will result in removal, and excess over cost will be contributed to the scholarship fund. Publicly report how much gets so contributed, and all the nosey town folk will gossip about cheapskates that don't contribute. You are not in Boston or NYC. If you DON'T have unlimited local calling, you can get a limited functionality DUMB-DUMB COCOT phone that blocks ANY LD service, and simply connects the mike and eats the coin when the customer pushes the CLEARLY LABELED button that indicates the caller wants to pay and talk. Better get one that allows 911, and check if any FCC rules are being violated by blocking all LD. Get the cheapest that blocks fraud and collects some money. If you miss a little, tough. This is not supposed to be a major money maker, just a reasonable convenience for town folk. Try GTE Supply. There was a mag called "PAYPHONE" that I think changed its name. Some COCOT reader can probably supply it. There were plenty of ads in it.
scott@hsvaic.boeing.com (Scott Hinckley) (03/18/91)
Miscellaneous text about buying COCOT for school deleted. > I know that COCOTs are not popular in this group, but this seems like > a reasonable use for one. We'd label it to make sure that folks > weren't fooled into thinking it's a normal pay phone, including a note > like "Go to the Lyme Store or Nichol's Hardware for cheaper calls." Well, I see one potential proplem here (remebering my high-school days). You have a captive audience during lunch&breaks which will probably be forced to use this phone. "No, you can't use the office phone, there is a pay phone in the hall". Those students will be the ones having to subsidize the COCOT. I would try to dig a little deeper at your local Bell to try and get them to install the phone, put the superintendants position behind the request and see if it doesn't produce some responses. (This assumes you are on a closed-campus style school, if they can go anywhere they want for lunch it is a different question.) Scott Hinckley Internet:scott@hsvaic.boeing.com +1 205 461 2073 UUCP:...!uunet!uw-beaver!bcsaic!hsvaic!scott BTN:461-2073 DISCLAIMER: All contained herein are my opinions, they do not represent the opinions or feelings of Boeing or its management.
Ed_Greenberg@3mail.3com.com (03/19/91)
Steve Ligett <stevel@eleazar.dartmouth.edu> writes about needing a pay phone where there isn't enough traffic for the telco (or the local COCOT people) to put on in. He wants to buy a COCOT. Most telco's offer something called a "Semi-public phone." This is the pay phone in the office of the gas station. Sometimes it even has incoming-only extensions. (There have been stories here in Telecom Digest about enterprising youngsters who devised a method to create outgoing extensions :-) It's also entitled to a directory entry. You pay something to have the phone there, and perhaps get a kickback on the usage. Check the tariffs in your state regarding coin service and semi-public coin service. edg [Moderator's Note: Who? Me?? PAT]
robert@uunet.uu.net (Robert L. Oliver) (03/20/91)
stevel@eleazar.dartmouth.edu (Steve Ligett) writes: > I'm gathering information for our school board. We would like to have > a pay phone in our school. It would be primarily for local calls made > during times that the school building is open, but the office is not. > For example during town meetings, school board meetings, sports > events, etc. It would not be used during the school day, and could be > hooked up to use one of the existing lines. > Neither the phone company nor the local COCOT company are interested > since it won't bring them much revenue. Actually, in my Junior High / High School in Philadelphia (J. R. Masterman), we had a payphone right outside the school office. This was quite pre-COCOT, so I don't know if Bell would make the same decision today. But I would bet that money was to be made. Students during lunch hour, teacher personal calls, etc. Note that the various Department Offices had school phones with no dials, but not "outside" phones, though I believe the operator could patch things through. Robert Oliver Rabbit Software Corp. 215-993-1152 7 Great Valley Parkway East robert@hutch.Rabbit.COM Malvern, PA 19355 ...!uunet!cbmvax!hutch!robert
am339@cleveland.freenet.edu (Michael J. Logsdon) (03/24/91)
With the various solutions mentioned to avoid installing a COCOT, one included installing a TOLL restrictor on one of the school's PBX lines or stations. If any school intends to do this, I'd be glad to give them (or any experimenter) one of the 12 Mitel units we have just taken out of service. Mike Logsdon am339@cleveland.freenet.edu University School VOICE 216-831-2213 FAX 216-831-1984 enter 388