Good information, thanks.
Another option, that if it works would avoid the need for new or changed legislation, is under 9C(b)(iii) to prescribe an act that ensures that “payphones” continue to meet the definition of “payphones”. However I couldn’t come up with something really credible. An interesting point about that clause is that it does not specify who has carried out the act. Could the prescribed act be “Telstra waiving the requirement for payment for certain types of calls”?
The likely intention of the wording in this part of the legislation is to cover alternative forms of payment and to encompass the would-be user of the payphone carrying out an act in order to make that form of payment.
The legislation isn’t really fit-for-purpose in the face of this development. I don’t think the fact that international calls might still require payment avoids the problem because the wording explicitly says
cannot be used to make a telephone call (other than a free call or
a call made with operator assistance) unless, as payment for the call ...
Because the list of free calls is explicit and not open-ended, that part is now false.
I suspect that public phones being free to use will now be very simple devices. No need for coin mechanisms, no need for card scanning or card processing data connections.
I think that international calls if available would be through operator connected services like in the old days before IDD/ISD.
That would be expensive though.
Caller pays. Who says that international calls have to be subsidised by Australian taxpayers?
Yes, I meant … (more) expensive for the caller. Not subsidised.
What would be cheaper do you think?
A few servers using automated call processing to accept a Telstra phone card or credit card to then enable an international call, or
15,000 public phones to be enabled to do the same thing?
I took “operator-connected” to mean “by an actual human being”.
That could depend where the actual human being was located. In Australia, yes, expensive, but automated systems are everywhere these days.
Long retired from PMG/Telecom/Telstra, but was involved in the rollout of these ‘more modern’ devices in the 1970’s & 80’s during a nearly 35 year career. (Even subscribed to Choice in mid 60’s.)
Prior to that, PT’s (public telephones) were only capable of local calls using pennies.
It was an era where all country and regional areas as well as what we now call STD and international calls, were connected by manual exchange telephonists. All this needed to be ‘upgraded’ (and reduce costs to the Government) as the Postmaster General’s Department/ Post Office at that time were Commonwealth Government owned.
Can you imagine living at Penrith in NSW and having to make an operator connected call to talk to a bank or what ever in Sydney?
This was a massive and expensive effort (I joined the PMG from school at age 15 as part of the exercise) to help make the entire country automated, telephone wise and allow subscribers to dial any number in the world from their own home telephone.
I digress.
The Coin Telephone 3 (CT3) was a vast improvement over the ‘long tom’ barrel coin tube, which only accepted pennies, through to the A&B button models for long distance calls.
The Coterp (coin telephone replacement programme) was ambitious. Firstly 240 volts electricity supply needed to be connected to each location, requiring co-ordination of other parties, cabinets replaced etc, but eventually all was completed.
Naturally, as interstate and international calls could be made, the revenue from CT3’s escalated, making them a target for vandalism and theft.
Time moves on. Most people nowadays have a mobile phone, and far less use is made of PT’s. The cost of collection possibly exceeds revenue, so I can well understand Telstra’s decision.
