From: andr0id@midwest.net
Date: Tue, 19 Dec 1995 06:56:47 +0800
To: cypherpunks@toad.com
Subject: Re: ADDRESS DATABASE?
Message-ID: <199512181805.MAA11175@cdale1.midwest.net>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain



>I'm not familiar with this aspect - how do cellular services store and
>make use of billing information, as opposed to traditional phone services?
>
Most cellular systems still write billing tapes and send them to a clearing
house for proccessing.  It may take 2 or 3 days before a bill is updated.
Thats not including that it takes sometimes up to a month before your
roaming charges are recorded from all of the other cellular carriers.  Some
carriers have realtime billing but it still doesn't take into account roaming.

>>  If
>> cellular customers start getting sales calls from a company that received a
>> list from a cellular carrier, the cellular carrier is obligated to refund
>> the customers bill for those calls if the customer complains becuase the
>> customer pays for calls comming or going.
>
>Is this obligation incurred by the contract between the customer and the
>cellular service, by statute, or otherwise? Contracts can always be
>broken, and passing laws to guard the guardians generally amounts to
>having the fox guard the henhouse...
>
This obligation is uncurred mostly by the fact that cellular carriers HATE
to loose customers.  If refunding a few min. of air-time helps keep a
customer then they will.  Unlike the phone company, a threat to discontinue
service with a cellular carrier works well in getting your way.

                        Dr0id