DNAinfo.com reports that Manhattan Community Board 4 is soliciting coöperation from New York’s Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications to redesign the outdoor payphone.

No concrete action is expected any time soon, and designs for the new prototype are being kept secret. Nevertheless a few interesting glimpses suggest that the city’s version of the payphone of tomorrow might include power outlets for re-charging mobile devices, less obtrusive advertising panels, and perhaps access to Internet content.

The announcement seems to ignore the fact that the payphone of the future already existed. For years TCC Teleplex maintained several Internet payphones around midtown, as reported here some years ago. These Internet Kiosks have been removed from New York City streets as of December, 2011, but TCC Teleplex seems to see a future for these multi-functional public communication devices, announcing on its web site that in 2012 a new “Green” public information and media terminal will be introduced. The new devices will include Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and potentially other developing technologies. An example of TCC Teleplex’s Internet Kiosk is shown in the photo to the right.

With years of experience installing and maintaining such devices on public streets it might behoove the city and other interested parties to partner with companies like TCC Teleplex in developing the next generation of the payphone.

There is little of substance to report for now on the city’s plans for the next payphone. I think it is good to know that payphones are getting some positive and potentially constructive attention in the halls of community government, saving payphone users from the seemingly inevitable path toward disenfranchisement.

These initiatives, however, represent nothing more than press releases if the payphones do not work.
Read the full story over at DNAinfo.com