TELECOM Digest OnLine - Sorted: Re: Payphone Surcharges (was: Unanswered Cellphones)

Re: Payphone Surcharges (was: Unanswered Cellphones)

John Levine (johnl@iecc.com)
31 Dec 2005 02:16:01 -0000

> [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Wait a minute ... either an 800 call is
> a 'free call' to the caller or it is a chargeable call to the
> caller. One or the other.

The telco doesn't charge the caller anything. The phone bill charges
I was describing are on the 800 number bill sent to the owner of the
800 number, i.e., if you were to call my 800 number from a payphone, I
would see the extra 54 cents on my phone bill.

On the other hand, if you use the 800 number to access a calling card,
the calling card company invariably passes along the payphone
surcharge and marks it up somewhat.

> How does the recipient of the call know that the call is
> originating from a COCOT style phone instead of a 'regular' line?

There's a pair of line type digits sent along with the ANI. That
topic has been discussed in the digest at some length.

> How does that fact (COCOT instead of regular) make any difference
> where what the carriage costs telco? Or is that 35 cents only to
> appease the COCOT owner? PAT]

The latter, it's to compensate the payphone owner (either COCOT or LEC
payphones) who otherwise gets no revenue for the call since
separations have gone away and the caller didn't put in any coins.

R's,

John

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