This may be way off topic for this forum but if anyone out there has an opinion it would help me in another chat group of airline passengers who use Amsterdam Schiphol a lot.

In agreement with the airport (?) KPN has blocked 0800 numbers from payphones at Schiphol, presumably to force passengers to use the paid for service they offer and not calling cards and the like. A correspondent on my other group felt this might be in breach of EU competition law. In his words it is illegal to have an agreement  '...between undertakings with the effect of affecting competition'.

Apart from the Dutch case above, might this provision also apply to those companies here who force you to use non-geo numbers vs a geographical alternative?

farci wrote on Dec 15^th, 2005 at 12:51pm:

Apart from the Dutch case above, might this provision also apply to those companies here who force you to use non-geo numbers vs a geographical alternative?

I can't give you an exact answer to your question because I don't know. But, don't BT have to allow a numbers to be called? They also provide most payphones in railway stations and the like. It is only in built up areas, busy shopping areas and the like that competitors come in to take some of the rich pickings. An airport would obviously fit that category, but I think that they would therefore have to exclude BT Payphones. Can they and would they do this and bring in some other telco?

BT in the UK and Kingston Telecomunications (In Adminstration), have to provide telephones in their respective areas for use by everyone and they have to allow access to every number.

As for the Pre-Paid calling cards (not phonecards as they are BT), BT can charge an "access fee" such as slapping 10p per call on the use of them. They cant however block the 0800 from public payphones.

Only time 'BT' Payphones have numbers blocked on them are the ones you see in pubs/clubs these are owned/rented from BT by the pub owner, they can block any numbers they want such as 144, 0800...., 0808...., etc etc.

New World Telecom are in effect BT payphones rented from BT.

Do you mean that all 0800 numbers are barred, or only certain calling cards?

The issue of using calling cards is tricky anywhere. In this country, as we know, Orange has recently become the last network to charge for 0800 calls, mainly to cut out the loophole of cheap calls providers not paying them.

Abroad, some providers charge the customer a higher tariff and pass part of this on to the callbox or mobile network. Others charge no premium and do not pass on any revenue. Unsurprisingly, the access numbers of this latter group are subject to being barred when recognised.

In America, there are FCC rules that compel 800 providers to compensate callbox providers. So I rather doubt if it is illegal there, but US cards don't often pay in other countries

I can't speak for KPN, except that I knew it is one of the strictest on this.

If you can't call a freephone taxi number either at Schipol, that could be a nuisance, but if your favourite calling card has a choice of paying 20p per minute or being barred, then you are in the grips of their agreements, or lack of them.

Try a different calling card.