Kiosk iNNOVA - New-Generation Multimedia Payphones are on the Streets of Turkey

New-Generation Multimedia Payphones are on the Streets of Turkey

Old-fashioned payphones are about to turn into multimedia platforms. New-generation multimedia payphones developed by Kiosk iNNOVA will be offering their users a host of new features such as video telephony, SMS messaging, and access to e-government transactions.

In the league tables of today's telecoms industry, Turkey ranks high among the fastest-growing countries in the world. Turk Telekom, one of the worlds leading telecommunications services provider, made a decision to renovate the system of payphones that it operates all over the country. To carry out this project and develop the new-generation payphones that were needed, Turk Telekom has chosen Kiosk iNNOVA, a leading provider of innovative kiosk solutions, as its partner and supllier.

R&D; work on the project, which is likely to be the biggest single undertaking of its kind in the world, took about a year. The first examples of new-generation payphones resulting from these efforts are now on the streets.

Turkey's new-generation payphones will be offering users on the street a host of innovative new features such as video telephony, internet access, e-mail, instant photography, SMS messaging and city life information services. Every kiosk will also serve as a hotspot for Wi-Fi internet access.

Among the hardware features with which the kiosks will be equipped are touchscreens, instant access function keys, keyboard and pinpad for the secure entry of passwords etc. There will be a thermal printer capable of printing out receipts for transactions that are paid for by credit card. Users will also be able to store copies of e-mails and other materials that they download from the internet on their own storage devices attachable to the kiosks' media card readers and USB ports.

Another important added-value aspect of Kiosk iNNOVA to this project, in addition to manufacturing the multimedia payphone, is the advanced-feature telephone software which is also developed by Kiosk iNNOVA. This software has been designed to work seamlessly in conjunction and integrated with Turk Telekom's existing infrastructure. Another important advantage provided by Kiosk iNNOVA is that all the payphones connected to the system can be managed centrally and in real time thanks to the system's central management software. This software also includes advertising management system functions that allow advertising campaign information to be scrolled across the payphones' display screens. In addition, this system makes it possible to run different advertising materials from a remote location, to make adjustments in order to specify what material will be displayed where and when, and to conveniently generate reports about all these activities.

An important consideration in the design and manufacture of these multimedia payphones is that the units will have to be used in outdoor environments in each city and all over Turkey. In a country where ambient temperatures range between -30° to 35° Centigrade and it can be summer in some regions while it is still winter in others, this is a serious problem. For this reason, climate control is being used for the multimedia payphones rather than simple cooling/heating systems. In this way, the units will be able to remain in service no matter what the weather conditions around it may be.

Kiosk iNNOVA employed a team of about fifty engineers to take care of all aspects of its new-generation payphones from industrial design to production processes. All of the units are being manufactured in Kiosk iNNOVA's own factory.