SURPRISE CALLS - A PROPOSED NEW SERVICE FOR RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS

Surprise Calls is a proposed service in which subscribers would give t he telephone company a list of people, with their numbers, with whom t hey would like to have long-distance calls at unexpected times. The te lephone system would set up these calls semi-randomly, infrequently, a nd during off-peak hours, at prices substantially discounted in compar ison with ordinary calls. Surprise Calls would hence make profitable u se of the network in non-busy times, while providing a service attract ive to many customers. This paper estimates costs and revenues based o n reasonable assumptions, and shows how a field trial could reduce unc ertainties about the prospects for the service and provide estimates u seful for its detailed design.