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NuKE Issue 06-009
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Volume 1, Issue 6, May 1993
NuKE Info-Journal #6
NuKE-NuKE-NuKE-NuKE-NuKE-NuKE-NuKE-NuKE-NuKE-NuKE-NuKE
uK E-
KE "AT&T Talk Tickets" -N
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uK Nowhere Man E-
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Introduction
~~~~~~~~~~~~
As many people know, many countries throughout the world have begun
installing a new pay phone system which takes "phone cards" in addition to
or instead of coins. These phone cards are unlike U.S. calling cards,
rather they are more like credit cards: they have a magnetic strip which
holds the value of the card. You buy a card in a certain denomination
(say $10) and then you can place that amount of calls with the card. The
U.S., however, is unwilling and unable to impliment such a program.
(Remember, this is the country which brings you the English System of
measurement!) Not only would it cost too much, so they say, but there is
also a problem not found in most other countries -- competiton. Pay phones
may be owned by anyone, from the local phone company to the foreigner who
owns the local Duncan Doughnuts; to get everyone to agree to a standard and
to replace existing phones with card-ready phones would be unfeasable. So
now AT&T and U.S. Fibercom are introducing an alternative: "Talk Tickets."
What are Talk Tickets?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Talk Tickets are not magnetic-striped cards or calling cards, they're a
strange cross between both. You'll be able to purchace a Talk Ticket in
certain demomination, each carrying a certain number of $0.60 "units."
Cards will be available in 5, 10, and 50 unit ($3, $6, and $30)
denominations. The card itself is a small cardboard ticket bearing a
unique eleven-digit serial number (and some rate/call information). You
call an 800 number and a voice prompts you for your ticket number. Once
you've entered a valid number, the voice will tell you how much money is
left on the ticket (you don't have to use the full value of the ticket on
one call, leftover time is kept track of). Then you place your call, just
as if you were dialing from a normal line, with a few exceptions: there
are special "star" services you can dial, recordings costing one unit each
(like 976 numbers), and international calls do not require the usual "011"
prefix. The call is then handled normally, however if your ticket runs out
of credit during the call you are abruptly disconnected.
Costs
~~~~~
As mentioned before, calls are billed in $0.60 units. The chart below
gives the cost, in units per minute, for calling various locations.
Area Units/Minute
~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~
*1 (Sports News) 1
*2 (World News) 1
*3 (U.S. Weather) 1
Asia (incl. Australia and NZ) 5
Africa 5
Canada 3
Europe (except former U.S.S.R.) 4
Russia/Former U.S.S.R. 5
South America 4
United States (incl. AK and HI) 1
These rates are much higher than standard calling card or direct-dial
rates -- a call to Europe is $2.40/minute, Canada is $1.80/minute, and
Asia is a whopping $3.00/minute. This is cheaper than a coin call from a
pay phone, but other than that it's extremely expensive.
Where do I get Talk Tickets?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Right now Talk Tickets are available on a limited trial basis via
McDonald's. That's right, McDonald's. Three-unit Talk Tickets will be
given away free in Super-Value Meals until June; the catch is that it's a
limited trial offer, avaliable only in the following areas: New York City,
Buffalo/Syracuse, Baltimore, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. You can also get
them via Patrick Townson, moderator of the Telecom Digest on Internet
(ptownson@eecs.nwu.edu), for $2 per four units (or $1.50/card in groups of
ten or more). In addition, Talk Tickets should soon be on sale at AT&T
phone centers near you...
Important Numbers
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The 800 Talk Ticket access number is 800-331-0888. For more information
about the Talk Ticket program, call 800-462-1818 (outside the U.S. call
408-428-2734 collect). The operator will be happy to answer your
questions about the Talk Ticket program.
Hacking Talk Tickets
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I'm sure the first thing you though of when you read about Talk Tickets is
"how can I abuse them." Well, there's really no reason to. First off,
the serial number is eleven digits -- however it's created algorythmically,
meaning it *can* be hacked. However, even if you do manage to generate
your own Talk Ticket numbers, its not of much value if you're calling
outside the U.S. You can get almost an hour within the country on a 50
unit ticket, but that same ticket would only get you about 12 minutes to
Europe or 10 minutes to Asia. You're better off not wasting your time,
calling cards are much better.
Conclusion
~~~~~~~~~~
SAVE YOUR MONEY. There is little reason to use the Talk Ticket program.
Calling card calls are much cheaper -- heck, even hotel surcharges are
usually less costly! In addition the potential for abuse is limited; the
most you can fraud would be 10 minutes to Australia, big deal. The one
key advantage, though, that the tickets offer is anonymity. You are just
a number, and unlike with a calling cards, you pay cash up front, and are
not billed directly, so your privacy is mantained. So, unless you need the
protection (and are willing to pay through the nose for it!) AT&T Talk
Tickets are a waste of time and money.
Nowhere Man/NuKE
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