Re: "four to six million recorded telephone calls a day"???
"Choose a number, say 147{$currently_unused_digit}. If the recipient considers the call to be spam they hang up and dial that number. The telco credits their A/C by a small fee, say £2 and adds it to the caller's bill plus handling charges."
Hmm - have you considered the unintended consequences?
I could set up a business making spam calls. I could also rent a few hundred phone numbers delivered over SIP trunks to a cheap IP PBX. I run a script on one end dialling those numbers repeatedly and then another script on the PBX dialling your 'spam alert' number after each call.
All I have to do then is collect my winnings from the receiving numbers and not pay the bill for the call making numbers and I've made a fortune. You've created a perfect fraud opportunity.
I'm not sure what you mean about the telcos 'business models' though - telcos are obliged to pass on calls without prejudice. They can't pick and choose which calls are valid and which aren't - in much the same way that the Royal Mail doesn't open up envelopes to see if you're sending an illegal letter or spam mail to someone.
In your model a UK telco gets fined because a fly-by-night VOIP provider in Bermuda has a customer making scam calls. It seems like you're punishing the wrong people.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
