As you were notified earlier this year, the Telkom Exploratorium will be hosting a Phonecard Workshop on May 14 d May 15 1999. Telately '99 will form part of the celebration of World Telecommunication Day and it will provide collectors with the opportunity to interact with fellow collectors. I include with this the proposed programme for the two days. As this is the first time that this event is being held, please feel free to contact me with any queries, suggestions or problems with the programme.
Transport will be arranged according to the amount of collectors attending and where they depart from. At this stage it is probable that the bus/car will depart from Pretoria on Thursday, May 13 at 06:00 and depart from Cape Town again on Monday, May 16 at 06:00. Estimated arrival in Cape Town is at 20:00 and again at 20:00 in Pretoria. Final arrangements will be made as soon as attendance is confirmed.
Proposed Programme
Friday, May 14
As you see, I am still looking for four collectors to do a talk of 15 min. each. Please contact me if you know about a suitable topic or are interested in doing a talk.
Stuart Hopwood
e-mail: HopwooSJ@TELKOM.CO.ZA
ITA Chairman, David Tobin announced today that the International Telecard Association had filed suit in the Supreme Court of the United States, to revers a lower court ruling.
"ITA initially filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals and showed that the FCC did not give us fair treatment on the issue of whether or not dial around compensation must be paid to payphone owners when payphone-specific info-digits are not provided to carriers. FCC staff admitted that they did not consider the plight of phonecard issuers who must have this information to properly decrement cards for DAC charges. The FCC didn't treat us fair and Court of Appeals didn't treat us fair. So we're taking it to the highest court in the land," Tobin said.
In its Petition for Writ of Certiorari, drafted by ITA FCC counsels, Glenn Manishin and Stephanie Joyce, ITA cites twelve previous Supreme Court cases in which the rights that ITA is claiming were upheld. "The court of appeals' decision contradicts settled law on the separation of legislative from judicial powers.... and if left uncorrected, will permit the FCC and other agencies to thwart judicial review of administrative decisions by simple inaction." (From page 2, "Statement of the Case")
Tobin also announced that Manishin will be appearing before the ITA "Washington Opportunity" on Friday, April 29, to brief members on the suit and other FCC actions. That afternoon, those ITA members in Washington will be visiting the FCC to meet with key policy makers. ITA members will also be meeting with Congressman Gary Miller, the key House sponsor of the bill to repeal the Federal Excise Tax on phonecards and other telecommunications.
"I'm proud that our Association is going to this ultimate legal step to defend our industry," Tobin said. "ITA has been and will continue to be the prepaid industry's defender. Its members and supporters should be proud of their efforts." To review the ITA's Supreme Court Petition, visit the ITA Website: http://www.te1ecEaiA.org.
DENVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 3, 1999-- Qwest Communications International Inc. today announced that it has been selected as the preferred provider of prepaid phone card services for CITGO Petroleum Corporation.
The agreement gives Qwest the opportunity to provide prepaid products and services to more than 15,000 of CITGO's locations. CITGO retailers will have the opportunity to sell a variety S.A.F.E.R.(SM) (Secure Activation For Every Retailer) activated prepaid cards offering consumers attractive low rates. Qwest will provide marketers a complete phone card program including in-store point of sale displays, posters and other selling tools.
Three Qwest prepaid cards offering S.A.F.E.R. functionality will be marketed through the deal. Best Value cards are available in popular $10, $20 and $50 denominations. TeleMinutos cards offer great rates for calls to Mexico and Latin America and are available in $10 and $20 denominations. America's Best is offered for calls to Asia and around the world and is available in $5, $10 and $20 denominations. All of these cards allow consumers to call anywhere within the U.S., including Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam and to Canada, as well as to over 230 countries.
CITGO retailers selling the cards will have the benefit of Qwest's S.A.F.E.R. system which activates the cards when the clerk swipes them through their standard retail credit card processing equipment. With S.A.F.E.R. there is no hardware or software to buy. Because cards are activated at the time of sale, theft is greatly reduced. As risk of card theft is reduced, retailers can display the cards more prominently throughout the store inspiring increased sales.
``Because CITGO selected Qwest as the preferred provider of prepaid cards, consumers will be able to take advantage of the great low domestic and international prepaid calling rates,'' said Mark Welton, vice president of enhance services for Qwest. ``And CITGO retailers appreciate the added security and selling opportunity that Qwest cards offer. Because of Qwest's secure activation for every retailer (S.A.F.E.R.) activation system, retailers can prominently display the cards without fear of card theft.''
Until Next Time,
Alan
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