3 ms·

This problem would stop instantly if you could press a button during a call and have 25 cents added to the caller's phone bill and perhaps get a 25 cent credit

This problem would stop instantly if you could press a button during a call and have 25 cents added to the caller's phone bill and perhaps get a 25 cent credit on your own bill. Anyone know why this rather obvious solution hasn't been implemented? At a minimum, one could switch cell phone billing so that only the caller pays, not the recipient.

bkdonline 9y ago
Because there are people who would press that button on non-spam calls as well. And then litigation hell will break loose.
- radford-neal 9y ago
  Really? You'd press the button when your friends call? Or, if you phoned a store to ask whether they stocked an item you want to buy, do you think the store would press the button? At any rate, people already (often) pay to make phone calls. By dealing a number, you're implicitly agreeing to pay. Just think of it as a charge (often waived) for the time of the person answering it.
  - mostlystatic 9y ago
    People could submit their phone number anywhere that collects leads (be it dentists, charities, or SaaS companies), wait for a call, and then press the button to get the money.
    - radford-neal 9y ago
      Maybe. And how much money do you think you'd loose each year due to such scams? Maybe 50 cents?
tom_mellior 9y ago
> At a minimum, one could switch cell phone billing so that only the caller pays, not the recipient. Are there any countries besides the US that charge the callee? It's completely unheard of in Europe. I did spend some time in the US about ten years ago, and I do remember being very surprised at being charged for calls received, and even for texts received, although you have no influence on accepting them! Such a weird system.
- mac01021 9y ago
  What if you use your mobile phone to receive a million texts per day and the sender uses a different service provider. Your service provider has to pay for all that data moving through its network one way or another...
  - tom_mellior 9y ago
    I don't know exactly how inter-provider billing works, but I assume the sender's network pays the receiving network. The sender caused the traffic, why would anyone else pay for it?

bkdonline 9y ago

Because there are people who would press that button on non-spam calls as well. And then litigation hell will break loose.

radford-neal 9y ago
Really? You'd press the button when your friends call? Or, if you phoned a store to ask whether they stocked an item you want to buy, do you think the store would press the button? At any rate, people already (often) pay to make phone calls. By dealing a number, you're implicitly agreeing to pay. Just think of it as a charge (often waived) for the time of the person answering it.
- mostlystatic 9y ago
  People could submit their phone number anywhere that collects leads (be it dentists, charities, or SaaS companies), wait for a call, and then press the button to get the money.
  - radford-neal 9y ago
    Maybe. And how much money do you think you'd loose each year due to such scams? Maybe 50 cents?

tom_mellior 9y ago

> At a minimum, one could switch cell phone billing so that only the caller pays, not the recipient. Are there any countries besides the US that charge the callee? It's completely unheard of in Europe. I did spend some time in the US about ten years ago, and I do remember being very surprised at being charged for calls received, and even for texts received, although you have no influence on accepting them! Such a weird system.

mac01021 9y ago
What if you use your mobile phone to receive a million texts per day and the sender uses a different service provider. Your service provider has to pay for all that data moving through its network one way or another...
- tom_mellior 9y ago
  I don't know exactly how inter-provider billing works, but I assume the sender's network pays the receiving network. The sender caused the traffic, why would anyone else pay for it?