Vendo Vavoom – GSM payphone
Published on 8 Oct 2005 at 7:20 am.
4 Comments.
Filed under Wireless, Tech World.
I heard from a colleague from one of the telcos that they had plans of deploying GSM payphones. The idea is, it’s easy to install GSM stand-alone payphones in far-flung areas.
The idea gets juicier: users bring their own SIM. Interesting, huh? Bring your own SIM, make calls charged to your own SIM. Thus, people in the barrios don’t need to have a cellphone to be in touch. They just need to have a SIM.
The GSM vendo payphone will also have hardware that’s superior to the ordinary phone. It will be equipped with an antenna that can pick-up cellphone signals more effectively that the ordinary cellphone.
Let me extrapolate on the idea and imagine what else the vendo payphone has. It just needs a mobile phone or a GSM modem, a solar- or wind-powered rechargeable battery and you can leave it in the barrio without much supervision or maintenance. No need for telephone wires, no need for electricity lines.
But you’ll definitely need people in the equation.
People who will keep the machine clean and safe. It’s a community commodity that everybody should take care of, should be responsible for.
People who will sell load to SIM owners.
People who will use the vendo payphone.
Technology alone fails. Technology and people … well, they fail too.
But at least you have people to blame!
Hehehehe! Just kidding!
ka edong
vendo crazed
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j-phearson on 14 Oct 2005 at 10:21 am: 1
Diba ang smart maroong “smart talk” dati with the same idea na its using GSM but not people’s onw sim cards?
ka edong on 14 Oct 2005 at 12:39 pm: 2
“smart talk”?
hmmm… I recall a “star talk” - a service where people sleuth other people’s lives and not their own!
hehehe.
maybe you’re referring to Talk N Text Partner? a public cellphone for hire.
ka edong
jepoy on 16 Oct 2005 at 1:50 am: 3
star trek. mwehehehehee… yup, smartalk was offered by smart before. GSM payphone. Hindi ko lang alam kung available pa today.
ka edong on 17 Oct 2005 at 1:19 am: 4
honga, wonder whether this is still available. Maybe its one of the many services that they’ve stopped.
I have a story i’ll post soon (with some pics). it’s about public calling stations in africa. abangan ….