AT&T pay phones connect to the Internet

AT&T yesterday introduced a new generation of public telephones that will make it as easy for travelers to access the Internet via high-speed T1 lines as it is to make a voice call.

The Public Phone 2000i is slated for deployment in major airports across the U.S. Travelers will be charged 25 cents per minute--for a minimum of four minutes--to use the phone, which features a full-sized keyboard, mouse pad, and a 12-inch monitor. The phone accepts credit cards as well as cash (in $1, $5, $10 and $20 increments).

“It’s just like your home computer,” said Jim Agliata, director of business development–public markets, for AT&T.

The difference is, unlike most home computers, users also can make voice calls with the Public Phone 2000i, simply by picking up the handset and pushing the button marked “phone” once they’ve logged on. This is important, because the voice functionality often will help to extend user sessions, meaning more revenue will be generated, said Agliata.

The Public Phone 2000i is designed to complement the Grapevine web-enabled public phone being installed by AT&T in more than 600 locations at JFK and La Guardia airports in New York City, according to Agliata.

“The Public Phone 2000i is what I consider to be the Cadillac of all enhanced public terminals,” Agliata said. “It is intended for applications where there’s extensive dwell time, like gate-hold areas, where a busy sales executive can pull out his company credit card, check his e-mail and conduct business. In such applications, we’ve seen user times as high as one hour.

“The Grapevine is considered to be the new VW Bug and is marketed towards a shorter user session … and is more like a public phone; there’s no keyboard or mouse, just some quick-access keys.”

Another significant difference between the two is the cost of deployment, added Agliata.

“The Public Phone 2000i is an expensive, robust system that needs to be installed with a minimum of 16 units in airports so that we can get the most value out of the T1 line they’re connected to,” he explained. “You really have to evaluate where you’re going to put it. The Grapevine is less expensive to deploy, so pulling a phone off the wall and hanging a Grapevine is no big deal.”

About 25 Public Phone 2000i units have been installed at JFK, Atlana-Hartsfield and Dallas-Fort Worth international airports. Additional installations are scheduled this year for Phoenix, Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and Newark, N.J. AT&T is targeting other major airports for future deployments, as well as hotels and resorts.

“We’ve trialed a few resorts, and it’s been very successful for us,” said Agliata. “Now that we have a number of the top airports, we’re going to mature that business and grow it, but I want my guys working now on resorts and hotels.”

AT&T also hopes to generate revenue by working with companies that place billboards in and around airports to add the Public Phone 2000i to the billboard companies’ current marketing mix for their existing customers.

Agliata said AT&T has taken steps to ensure users cannot use the Public Phone 2000i to view objectionable material from the Web or visit inappropriate sites.

“We do business with Walt Disney World, and we’ve worked for over nine months on modifying off-the-shelf blocking software, and we have it pretty much that you can’t access a site that’s inappropriate,” he said. “But there is a way to get around it if someone e-mails you a dirty picture. I can’t block that.”