today, arfco3000 has a story about service in central europe. i have a similar story: if you want to call-by-call in austria you have to register yourself with the company providing the service. isn't this perverse? generally, call-by-call means that you choose your provider simply by dialling the appropriate code and paying the call later with the next bill from your telephone company. but because telekom austria does not want to bill for other providers i first have to register with the provider and wait until the forms are delivered to me, filled in, sent back and finally processed by the provider. that's so farcial.

uh, and yes, phone companies, banks and health insurances belong together.