david@uunet.uu.net> (09/22/90)
A few months ago I mentioned that Telecom/OTC were now providing IDD itemised bills to customers on new exchanges. My quarterly phone bill arrived with my first itemised IDD call: Date Time Place Number Min:Sec $ 19 Jul 11:06pm USA Rhode Is 1401863xxxx 1:59 2.42 [my xxxx's] So on a sample of one I guess OTC at least decodes the country and area code to get the place. As for Trunk call itemisation, metropolitan residential customers will start getting it in November, 1990 and all should have it by 1994. Country residential customers should have it by 1997. This should give us one of the most missed features of the US phone system. We don't have COCOTs - although businesses can rent Telecom Gold Phones and get the difference between the 22c charged to subscribers and the 30c charged to pay phone users (per call unit). Telecom are going to introduce pre-purchase phone cards (looks similar to the Japanese variety - punches a hole to show the remaining value of the card). They hope this will reduce vandalism by reducing the coins held in the phone. David Wilson Dept Comp Sci, Uni of Wollongong david@cs.uow.edu.au
U5434122@ucsvc.ucs.unimelb.edu.au (09/26/90)
In article <12478@accuvax.nwu.edu>, munnari!cs.uow.edu.au!david@ uunet.uu.net (David E A Wilson) writes: > A few months ago I mentioned that Telecom/OTC were now providing IDD > itemised bills to customers on new exchanges. My quarterly phone bill > arrived with my first itemised IDD call: > Date Time Place Number Min:Sec $ > 19 Jul 11:06pm USA Rhode Is 1401863xxxx 1:59 2.42 [my xx's] > So on a sample of one I guess OTC at least decodes the country and > area code to get the place. OTC is kind enough to give the state or province for calls to North America, but calls to London (4471+7D) are listed as 'United Kingdom', just the same as calls to Glasgow (4441+7D). I don't think it would have been much effort to add major UK cities with area codes of the form (0N1), but they did not bother. Odd, considering that the UK is in the top three destinations for Australian international calls. It should be noted that while automatic itemisation of IDD calls is now provided to everyone, it was available on request to many subscribers before this. > As for Trunk call itemisation, metropolitan residential customers will > start getting it in November, 1990 and all should have it by 1994. > Country residential customers should have it by 1997. This should give > us one of the most missed features of the US phone system. LD itemisation is also a feature available on request, depending on the local exchange (CO) equipment. The new AXE exchanges and the older ARE and ARF switches can itemise, but the old SxS monsters can't. I am on an AXE exchange and I have had LD itemisation for 18 months. My only beef is that TA (Telecom Australia) charges 6c per call for the itemisation, to a maximum of $5.00 per quarter. 1994 is the target for fully digital service in metropolitan Australia. TA seems to have a policy of witholding services from everyone if not everyone can have it. For example, Call Forwarding costs $480 /year for a rack mounted device to be installed, so that subscribers on SxS exchanges can also use it, Call Forwarding on an AXE exchange would cost TA nothing, but they still charge the $480. At least they allow me to have call waiting, conference and a crippled call forwarding. My call forwarding is crippled because I can only forward to exchanges in the same group as my own, ie I can't use an intergroup trunk for the forwarded call. At least I only pay $17 a year and no call charges for the forwarded calls. > We don't have COCOTs - although businesses can rent Telecom Gold > Phones and get the difference between the 22c charged to subscribers > and the 30c charged to pay phone users (per call unit). Correction needed here. A Gold Phone *is* a COCOT, but a regulated one. The old Redphone was leased from TA, but the replacement GoldPhone was available by purchase only from its introduction in 1983. Back then it cost $1300. Probably $2000 now. The owner of the GoldPhone has no say in the charge for using the phone. TA has also released a Bluephone COCOT which is a small low security phone for use in restaurants etc. > Telecom are going to introduce pre-purchase phone cards (looks similar > to the Japanese variety - punches a hole to show the remaining value > of the card). They hope this will reduce vandalism by reducing the > coins held in the phone. These are currently on trial in Geelong, Victoria. They claim that they are better than the European variety, but I could not get any real evidence out of the rep to back the claim. There are also EFTPOS telephones which accept ATM cards, and debit your savings account. These were developed as a joint venture with ANZ bank, and they are connected directly to that bank's computer, even for cards issued by other banks. Danny
cmoore@brl.mil (VLD/VMB) (09/27/90)
This reply is to a message from U5434122@ucsvc.ucs.unimelb.edu.au: You write of "withholding services from everyone if not everyone can have it". In the U.S., direct-dialed international calling was (is?) not available everywhere, and if you cannot dial direct because of your exchange not being equipped for international dialing, you still get the direct-dial rate unless your call requires any other operator assistance.