scjones@uunet.uu.net (Larry Jones) (01/27/91)
From the January 26 {Cincinnati Post}:
Hotels and car-rental agencies that provide cellular telephones to
customers soon will be able to get a quick peek at the dollar volume
of calls made when the phones are returned at check-out time.
Cincinnati Bell Information Systems (CBIS) by March will introduce a
new product geared toward business travelers, conventioneers and other
short-term cellular users. CIPHERS -- or Cellular Integrated Phone
Rental System -- will allow telephone charges to be tallied
immediately after the phone is returned so that the rental agencies
don't have to bill the client later when its own bill arrives from the
phone company. Hotels and car renters will, in essence, be able to
hand the customer an "instantaneous invoice," said Tony Tagliareni,
CBIS market support manager.
CIPHERS works by using a tiny computer chip inside the phone to record
call data, rather than relying on information collected at the switch
site. The chip can store data for up to 200 calls, more than enough
capacity for the typical short-term user, who may spend 20 minutes per
day on the phone.