Star-99

A phone company feature (*99) that charges the caller a fee after an initial time, say, 10 seconds. The charge fee revenue is split between the receiver and the phone company as incentive for the phone company to implement the service and to compensate them for billing expenses. The brief time before the service becomes live after a call gives the caller an opportunity to make their case before they incur a cost. This feature makes it politically palatable to the phone solicitation industry as it represents a trade between cost and opportunity.