djcl@contact.uucp (woody) (09/27/90)
Some VIA Rail trains running in the Ontario-Quebec corridor have had a Cantel cellular card-reading phone installed. Cards accepted would include the Visa or MC. Calls cost $1.95 per minute plus any long distance charges. Thus, local and 800 numbers would get the $1.95/min charge only. Calls to '0' (actually, Cantel's customer service centre, where you might be on hold for a while), '411', '911' (for emergency purposes) and long distance directory assistance are free to call, as likely are the special '*xxx' services that radio stations use for trouble reporting, etc. The Cantel phone needs to have your credit card before it will start doing anything, even for free calls. It does seem to spend a fair bit of time verifying the card, before allowing dialing. Nevertheless, it seems to be a good item to have on board the train, and many consider Cantel service to be better than the competitor, Bell Cellular. However, one conversation with the Cantel customer service "operator" suggested that VIA Rail is taking in a nice profit from the deal. The rep mentioned something in passing about a 50c/min airtime charge, plus whatever markup that the owner was putting on. Shades of COCOT fever here??? (It should be said that passenger rail service in Canada is struggling, and VIA is trying to hold on to every nickel and dime it can get its hands on.)