Ringing in new changes to phone booths

Published: Thursday July 7, 2011 MYT 1:55:00 PM

http://techcentral.my/news/story.aspx?file=/2011/7/7/it_news/20110707140603&sec=it_news 
KUALA LUMPUR: If you thought payphone booths had gone the way of the dodo thanks to people's overwhelming dependence on handphones, think again.
Pernec Corporation Bhd will be rolling out 3,500 payphone booths nationwide over the next three years, which adds to the 40,000-plus booths it is already operating now.
One of Malaysia's leading telecommunications infrastructure and ICT (information and communications technology) companies, Pernec said these would not be regular phone booths.
Depending on location and demand, the booths will also be WiFi hotspots. Pernec is working with telco giant Telekom Malaysia to provide wireless Internet connectivity via the booths. The hotspot would have a radius of 350m.
The booths would also have a reload point for prepaid mobile-phone service users to top up their accounts.
Pernec's City Mix booths, as they are called, will additionally feature an illuminated scrolling advertising panel at its back, which is the result of a partnership with outdoor-advertising expert the Katchi Group.
The advertising panel can be used as an effective communication channel to convey specific messages to the public or tourists; and a nationwide campaign can be put up on these panels as fast as within 72 hours.
City Mix booths will be tastefully designed for the urban environment; its components will be eco-friendly to leave a small carbon footprint, and yet make a big impression on the public, Pernec said.
Pernec currently has more than 40,000 payphone booths installed around the country. It said that 12 million calls were made from these booths each month, which generated RM50mil in revenue for the company last year.
But the company is not one to rest on its laurels, said its chairman Datuk Zainun Aishah Ahmad. She said it continues to evolve with the times to stay relevant.
Aside from building the City Mix booths, Pernec will also be upgrading some of its existing booths to City Mix standard.
"We are developing our phone booths into WiFi hotspots, and are also transforming them into an advertising medium. This is the main driver of our future direction," Zainun said.