🚀 go-pugleaf

Peter SCHACHTE wrote:
> 
> Kim Richardson <richards@cs.curtin.edu.au> writes:
> 
> > As if charged local calls wasn't enuff! In the U.S their local calls are
> > free and its only trunk calls that are charged for ...
> 
> I don't know if it's really a matter of central offices, but more a
> matter of distance (I think that's the way the regulators set it up).
> I believe there are even cases where you can call a different area
> code as a local call.  Here I can call someone on the other side of my
> capital city for 25 cents, whereas in the states any call more than a
> few miles away is timed.  25 cents is pretty high, though; a short
> long distance call in the states could easily be less than 25 cents.
> Bottom line:  I think my phone charges are quite a bit higher here
> than they were in the states.
> 
> > Telco's in general aren't into "Advancing Australia" or any of that
> > stuff ... they're just in it for the money ... just look at all the
> > protocols that were designed/changed to accomodate "charging"
> > information interchange ...
> 
> Clearly.  If they're really worried about people tying up lines for a
> long time, let them charge for that.  Maybe charge 25 cents for each
> hour or part thereof for a call, so a 1 minute call wouls cost 25
> cents, a 3 hour call would cost 75 cents, and a 3:01 call would cost
> $1.00.  But discriminating on the basis of the content of the
> connection seems all wrong to me.  It sounds like they're dividing
> their customers so they can charge more to people who are willing to
> pay more.  It seems pretty obscene to me thay Telstra turns over
> $billions each year to the government.  I would have expected a
> government-owned company to be non-profit.
> 
> If Optus plays their cards right they'll really cash in on this.  I
> know I'd switch to Optus in a second to avoid these ridiculous
> charges.
> 
Actually yes this will be quite good for Optus . Seeing as they are a
relatively new company and this new proposal from telstra could give
them that edge.

When Optus first started out the government put a freeze on the cost of
std calls to not stamp out the beginnings of Optus but now that freeze
has been lifted as we saw with the 10c a minute or whatever ...
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Kim Richardson		richards@cs.curtin.edu.au
Computer Science	erichardson@cc.curtin.edu.au
Curtin University	http://student.curtin.edu.au/~erichardson
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