Down from a peak of approximately 2,500 to 700 call boxes, many of which were lost to vandalism, the telecommunications company with a monopoly in pay- phone services in Jamaica, is using the next six months to complete refurbishment of the network.

It started the upgrade two months ago.

Errol Miller, C&WJ vice-president of corporate communications and corporate affairs, was cagey about the cost of the investment and the projected revenues to be gained.

Call boxes islandwide

He was equally evasive about the number of persons currently using call boxes islandwide and whether wireless boxes would be installed, describing this as "competitive sensitive information."

It was also not clear how wide a network C&WJ is planning, but its move is likely a response to Digicel's roll-out of its wireless home phone service that targets areas not now serviced by fixed line phones, mainly rural Jamaicans.

C&WJ's new phone boxes will not accept coins or cash, only cards.

Declining to say how much revenue C&WJ lost from the depleted facilities over the years - the decline of which coincided with the rise of cellular service providers - Miller noted it was part of the company's strategy to provide public access to affordable communication.

"As we revitalise the payphone business, the sectors we will be targeting would be areas that have a high presence of both locals and visitors," said Miller, in an indication that, geographically, areas along the North Coast and the airports would be targeted for boxes.

C&WJ said the decision to rebuild the network flowed from market research indicating that there was still a local demand for call boxes.

The benefit of the service, he said, is "the ability to make a call while on the move for persons without a mobile phone.

The company's Jus Talk calling cards launched this year will be compatible with the boxes for national and international calls.  The boxes will also be configured for the 1-800-CALL-USA service for collect or credit card calls to North America.

Miller says that alongside the roll-out of the rehabilitated boxes, C&WJ would be running a public campaign targeted at communities to mitigate vandalism.

The cost of international calls with Jus Talk at the call boxes will be $7 per minute to the United States, United Kingdom and Canada, while local calls may be made at $3.50 per minute.

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