Play Meter

FCC APPROVES PRIVATE PAY PHONES • CAMPBELL REJOINS CINEMATRONICS • STERN FILES
FOR CHAPTER 11 • MYLSTAR NAMES DISTRIBUTORS • WARNER SELLS AT ARI HOME DIVISION •
CONTINENTAL VIDEO OPENS OFFICE • FCC TO GIVE COPY GAME INFORMATION • BALLY
MIDWEST STAGES ROCK-OLA DAY • VMI SIGNS DISTRIBUTION DEAL • COIN ACCEPTORS
AWARDS DISTRIBUTOR • BALLOUZ BACK AT NINTENDO • ROSENZWEIG AT LUCKY DIST. •
ABLOY PRESENTS AWARD • SMALL BUSINESSES MAY GET MORE CAPITAL
FCC APPROVES
PRIVATE PAY PHONES
In a unanimous decision on June
15, the Federal Communications
Commission voted to allow private
pay phones to be hooked up to the
national telephone system.
The commission voted 5-0 to
allow private pay phone manufac-
turers to submit their products to
the FCC to be reviewed. If found in
compliance with FCC rules and
regulations, the phones will be
supplied with an FCC registration
number and allowed to be con-
nected to the national system. The
FCC requires phone equipment to
carry a registration number to make
sure the phone does not give off
improper voltages or register
incorrect billing.
Though this decision provides the
federal law making it legal to con-
nect the private pay phones to the
network for long distance calls, each
state's public utilities commission
must still decide whether to allow
private pay phones for in-state toll
calls or local calls.
The Bell System, which is now split
up, and the three largest indepen-
dent phone companies last year
owned about a million and a half
pay phones generating $890 million
in revenues averaging about $565
per phone.
Minnesota was the first, and only
so far , state to authorize local
private pay phone service. The
owner of each phone will pay
Northwestern Bell a monthly service
charge and a descending amount of
money per phone call depending
on the number of calls. Since it will
not supply maintenance to the
private pay phones, Northwestern
Bell found that it will make more
money than if it installed the
phones. (Play Meter, August 1, p. 8)
FCC representatives said about 20
other states which have been con-
sidering allowing the private pay
phone s may be spurred into action
becau se of Minnesota's ruling . " I
believe more states will act very
soon ," sai d james Talens, chief of
FCC domestic services, to a Los
Angeles Times reporter.
•
CAMPBELL REJOINS
CINEMATRONICS
Tom Campbell
Tom Campbell returned to his
former position of director of mar -
keting at Cinematronics as quietly
as he left. "The time I had off was
really more of a vacation, " Camp-
bell said. " I felt like I just needed to
get away from the pressures, but I' m
glad to be back ."
Cinematronics was operating
under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy
Code when it introduced the first
laser game, Dragon's Lair. Though
Dragon 's Lair was successful , it did
not generate the revenues to allow
Cinematronics to resolve old debts.
Though still operating under Chap-
ter 11 , Campbell is confident that
Cinematronics will introduce some
successful product.
•
PLAY METER. September 1. 1984