Card-operated cellular phones on the horizon

Company officials announced this week a six-month pilot project costing over $400,000 that will place 75 card-operated cellular phones on trains, in rural areas and along roadsides within three months.
Forty of the 75 units will go along the highway from Warsaw to the German border. Centertel will supply shop owners along that route with 15-unit, trial phone cards that are free to the public. Cards denominated up to 150 units will be sold.
One unit lasts 20 seconds at peak usage time on the domestic network.
Per-minute rates in the near future will be the same as Centertel's current cellular phone service.
Zbigniew Makowski, Centertel marketing director, said his company is asking Telekomunikacja Polska SA (TPSA) to lower the rates it charges for connecting calls with the state telephone service. While lower costs would help Centertel compete with the state-owned network, Makowski said that during the trial period his company would provide service in rural areas of southeast Poland where little if any service exists today.
The Beroliner Eurocity train on the Warsaw - Berlin route will be an early recipient of the pay phones.
Polski Express has also voiced interest in the phone service for its cross-country bus service, Centertel officials say. Customers would be able to buy calling cards from the bus drivers, who currently use cellular phones of their own.
Other areas likely to be targeted are holiday resorts and special events. One unit was used in Bielsko-Biala during the Pope's recent visit.