goudreau@dg-rtp.dg.com (Bob Goudreau) (09/26/90)
In article <12510@accuvax.nwu.edu>, msb@sq.com (Mark Brader) writes: > The world, or at least North America, got by just fine until a few > years ago without these numbers; their creation seems to have merely > opened up a new niche for sleazy businesses, in particular, the sort > who want to trick people into paying their charges. And for thousands of years, the world, or at least North America, got by just fine without telephones either. Their invention opened the way for many abuses: obscene calls, boiler-room scams, costly long distance calls made by houseguests, etc. Should we do away with the telephone because of these problems? 900 and 976 numbers do in fact serve a useful purpose. The fact that they continue to thrive should be some indication that many consumers *want* the ability to connect to information and specialty services. You and I may both think that it's silly to pay good money to vote for a video on MTV, or get your fortune read, or engage in erotic conversation with a phone-sex service -- but it's not *our* money at stake. People are also free to "waste" their money on _People_ or _Playboy_ magazines, or on a state lottery ticket, or by attending a football game or a concert -- but it's *their* money in all cases, and for them to decide whether the expenditure was worthwhile. That's freedom. With it comes the responsibility for one's own actions. > Another thing I've heard of them being used for, although > not locally, is information-by-telephone services that formerly were > free. It is for these reasons that I find myself feeling that we > would be better off without these numbers at all. Just because some information providers (e.g., newspaper sports lines, etc.) were generous enough in the past to provide information at no charge does not mean that they should be required to forever forgo charging a fee. Now, switching gears completely and referring to an earlier part of the article: > Now, in some parts of North America, there is a clear distinction > between local calls (which are free or cheap) and long-distance calls > (which cost more), and this distinction does not follow area code > boundaries. In some areas they are dialed in different ways so that > you can't incur a long-distance charge by accident. (This distinction > in dialing is doomed over the coming years, for reasons related to the > exhaustion of available numbers.) > In the Bell Canada service area (i.e. most of Ontario and Quebec plus > some of the Northwest Terrritories), there is such a distinction in > dialing, and calls to 976-numbers are always dialed as long distance. > This remains true even though actual long-distance calls to > 976-numbers are now to be blocked. What I would ideally like to see (not that this has a snowball's chance of ever happening :-)) is a completely different approach to the dialing of toll-free and extra-cost calls. Currently, the NANP just reserves various area codes and prefixes (800, 900, 976, and so on) for these purposes. But what if the "flavor" of a call could be indicated by a special prefix, similar to the way that non-default LD carriers can be selected with 10XXX? Here's how it would work: First, we need to invent a new class of prefixes. Anything will do, as long as it's not already in use. How about 110? Anyone know of any custom-calling features that already use this? Next, we define two of these prefixes: 1108: means that the call is to be billed to the callee (similar to 800 numbers now) 1109: means that the call will be billed to the caller, and at a special rate above and beyond the charges that would normally apply to calls to this number (similar to 900 and 976 numbers now) Under this scheme, I could do several things with my existing number: 1) Keep my line as is. To reach me, you dial 248-6231, or 1-919-248-6231, or +1-919-248-6231, depending on where you're calling from. You pay the charges, if any. 2) Set up a toll-free number. You can still reach me as above (and pay for the call yourself), but in part or all of the NANP (whatever regions I sign up for), you can dial 1108-1-919-248-6231 and get *me* to pay for the call. (Local callers could also dial 1108-248-6231.) Note that since the "real" telephone number is embedded in the toll-free number, international callers won't have any trouble finding out my number, although they must pay for the call themselves. 3) Set up a pay-service number. If you try to reach me at either of the two numbers above, you'll receive a rejection method. The only way to reach me is 1109-1-919-248-6231 (or locally, 1109-248-6231). You pay (big!) for the call. In essence, there would be three ways to dial any number: normal charges (no prefix), toll-free (1108 prefix), and premium service (1109 prefix). I could tell the telco which combination of these methods should be enabled (though of course I'd be foolish to enable normal or toll-free if I had premium turned on). Any thoughts on the practicality of this wild daydream? Bob Goudreau +1 919 248 6231 Data General Corporation 62 Alexander Drive goudreau@dg-rtp.dg.com Research Triangle Park, NC 27709 ...!mcnc!rti!xyzzy!goudreau USA
cambler@polyslo.CalPoly.EDU (Fubar) (09/27/90)
Only once have I been prompted to say, "Now THERE is a good use for a 900 number!" : Call 1-900-xxx-xxxx for a transcript of this show. Leave your address, and you will be billed $4 to your phone bill, and the transcript will be mailed to you. This justifies it for me. Not that I like the sleaze and talk-lines that charge upwards of $180/hour, but you have to take the good with the bad... Christopher(); --- cambler@polyslo.calpoly.edu --- chris@fubarsys.slo.ca.us