2007-06-22

For whom the Bell tolls



My cell phone conked out in the middle of a conversation today. No problem, I thought: I will use the nearby pay phone.

I inserted a quarter. The phone display told me I had a credit of 25 cents, and requested another 25 cents.

Yes, folks, it now costs 50 freakin' cents to make a pay phone call!

I understand that phone technology is still in its infancy, having only been around for a century. And that Bell Canada is a small startup with poor cash flow. And that people are always willing to shell out more for basic services because, hey, we like doing that.

But this is ridiculous. Yeah, everyone has a cell phone, yada, yada .... no, wait, not everyone does have a cell phone. And the people who don't probably don't because they can't afford one.

So how does Bell make life easier for these poor folks? By dialling up a 100 per cent increase.

Talk about a disconnect.

3 comments:

Aggie said...

Thanks for this, IO. You just expressed all the outrage I feel.

Harmony said...

OK now, is that outrage just about Bell, or is it cumulative outrage regarding bermuda shorts, metallic bathing suits, family reunions AND Bell?

Anonymous said...

It was the CRTC that allowed this hike even though stats like those of the PIAC show that 70% of low-income people in cities use pay phones to make crucial calls at least once a week.

The Anonymous Doc Benway