Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!wuarchive!texbell!vector!telecom-gateway
From: eli@chipcom.com
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Re: While Phone Rings, Charges May Begin
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Date: 11 Aug 89 14:32:06 GMT
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drea> Return-Path: spdcc!mailinglists.eecs.nwu.edu!telecomlist-request
> From: Andrew Boardman 
> Subject: Re: While Phone Rings, Charges May Begin
>
> I dread the day that I read "Coin calls from this telephone are carried by
> the US Sprint PublicFON service."))

	Why do you dread Sprint more than any other long haul carrier?
	Don't all carriers have problems with starting charges if you
	let the phone ring or give a busy signal for a "very long time"?

	Which carriers are immune from such charges?  If Sprint alone is
	screwing up billing because of "premature billing", this sounds
	like a good question for my pal at Sprint.  I like to give him
	tough questions!


[Moderator's Note: For one, AT&T has no problem with call supervision. They
begin charging when the connection is actually established, and not after
some pre-set period of time. You may occassionally listen to "The Larry
King Show", a radio talk show late at night which is heard coast to coast.
The announcer always gives a phone number to call if you want to talk on
the air with Larry King, and his announcement is phrased thus, "...if we
have a free line, you will get a ringing signal....let the phone *continue
to ring* until it is your turn to speak with Larry....we will answer you
a few seconds before you go on the air..." . Typically, you listen to
ringing for 10-15 *minutes* -- sometimes half an hour -- while the callers
ahead of you voice their opinions. Try that on a Sprint line sometime.

Chances are your Sprint rep friend will tell you they do not have 'call
supervision equipment' and cannot tell when the call actually starts.  PT]