KT Linkus looks at new uses for payphones
2009/06/13 13:45JoongAng Daily has an article about the continued decline of payphones in Korea where mobile phones are the standard:
“We [KT] are planning to integrate IT with public telephones,” he said.
For example, future public telephone booths will come equipped with access to the Internet, including Internet phone call capability.The Seoul city government also has its sights set on using public telephones as icons that display modern design.
KT has also decided to try to replace some payphones into automated teller machines (ATMs). From the press release announcing the new service between Wincor Nixdorf and NICE Banking:
Wincor Nixdorf, a global IT solutions provider to retailers and retail banks, is supplying 500 weather-protected ATMs to NICE Banking, which has already installed 240 of the state-of-the-art systems in KT’s traditional public phone booths across the country. The remaining ATMs will be rolled out over the coming months.
The public phones in outdoor ‘high-traffic’ pedestrian locations house multiple pay phones under one dedicated enclosure. KT has removed one pay phone position in strategic enclosures to create space for a single ATM giving consumers the option to withdraw cash conveniently, as well as the option to make telephone calls via a traditional pay phone.
Outside of Seoul Station, two payphones in this bank have been replaced by ATMs.
Futurize Korea: Korean payphones get RFID card readers (February 25, 2008)
