The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Great leveller of modern times

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Wednesday, Apr 02, 2008
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Great leveller of modern times

S. Harpal Singh

The coin box phone has not only revolutionised telephony, but is also one of the largest
money-spinners

Telecom revolution: The coin-box has made telecommunication a big money spinner even in a backward district like Adilabad.

ADILABAD: The coin-box public telephone is perhaps one of the greatest levellers of modern times as it presents an opportunity even to the have-nots to indulge in telephonic conversation. Known as the coin collection box (CCB) in telecom parlance, it has not only revolutionised telephony in most backward areas like Adilabad district but has also emerged as one of the largest money-spinners of current times.

For example, Reliance sells recharges worth Rs. 60,000 per day for its 2,500 coin box connections spread across the five mandals in Adilabad Assembly constituency.

The monthly turnover of all the five private operators in business in this area is estimated to be about Rs. 20 lakh.

“The spread of CCB usage among common people can be linked to call rates becoming cheaper and also with the spread of mobile telephony in the district. While the commonly applied call rate is Re. 1 per minute, BSNL has made it cheaper by increasing the pulse rate from 60 to 180 seconds making CCBs accessible even to the very poor,” pointed out BSNL Adilabad General Manager M.L. Narasimha Rao.

“Even people who have our landline connection prefer to use the CCB because the call rate of the former is slightly costly at Re.1.20 per unit,” added BSNL Deputy General Manager P.S. Subramanyam. The BSNL has about 4,200 CCBs in the district, mostly in very remote areas.

The number is bound to increase once the CCBs start operating as wireless in local loop (WLL) phones.

Y. Omprakash Reddy of Reliance says the trend has been there since the last three years as private operators have reduced the installation charges of CCBs progressively.

“Also, given the 40 to 60 per cent commission being offered to operators, it is no wonder that you can find a coin-box everywhere. Youth, especially students, can be seen hanging about coin-boxes near colleges making calls to friends or calling back someone who had sought conversation through a ‘missed’ call on the mobile phone,” he explained.

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