Do Phone Booths Still Exist?

Brief

Are payphones still a thing? Some of them are still standing, lonely and forgotten, as a remark of the pre-digital era. But it could and should be different. The function of urban furniture is to make the overall experience of public spaces richer.  Read more about phone booths renaissance.

Situation analysis

The world's first telephone box called 'Fernsprechkiosk' was opened on 12 January 1881 at Potsdamer Platz, Berlin. Fast forward 50 years, and payphones have become ubiquitous worldwide. Even in the 80s, their numbers grew. Between the early 1980s and the mid-’90s, the number of payphones in the United States nearly doubled.

There are many reasons why payphones have become obsolete; one of the most obvious is mobile phones. However, payphones are still a part of public infrastructure. Despite their imminent extinction, telephone booths have proven useful for other purposes. For example, 500 former telephone booths in Shanghai, China, were converted into Wi-Fi hotspots.

Phone booths are still useful for advertisers. Just because people no longer enter the booth to make calls doesn't mean they don't pass by. In fact, New York City earns three times as much using its phone booths as ad space as they do using them for their phone services. Out-of-home advertising revenues can be even higher with the use of modern digital technology. This is a positive change because the booths can come to life again.

The biggest Croatian DOOH advertiser has recognized the benefits of reusing traditional public telephones. On one hand, cities can gain new pieces of public infrastructure that actually benefit citizens. On the other hand, the DOOH advertiser can establish a network of locations.

Solution

The Croatian advertiser wanted a custom outdoor digital sign capable of grabbing the attention of passersby and providing phone calls and Wi-Fi network access capabilities. They chose Infinitus because of our customization skills and proven track record.

Based on the list of locations, we chose imotion FLOW technology. We developed a reliable and easy-to-adopt solution based on FLOW technology and the client's requirements.

The result is a smart city payphone solution: imotion BOOTH. The modern, sleek design aligns with the urban furniture concept and ensures caller anonymity. A large UHB 75” LCD panel is an ideal platform for advertising campaigns. An integrated 18.5” interactive LCD screen is a modern way-finding solution. The unit also enhances public Wi-Fi access with integrated Wi-Fi modules and offers integrated USB and wireless phone chargers. Both analog and digital payphone options are available.

Public display

Twenty imotion BOOTH smart city phone booths have been installed in three Croatian cities: Zagreb, Rovinj, and Trogir. All units are equipped with a calling solution, an 18.5” interactivpe touchscreen, Wi-Fi hotspot, mobile USB and wireless chargers, and a UHB 75” advertising display.