| Maltacom to change all card phones soon
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| Written by HiVoltage |
Wednesday, 24 May 2006
 A few weeks ago, Maltacom announced they will be upgrading their
payphone network to a completely new system. As the announcement wasn't
very detailed and we didn't know what this should mean to most of us,
we contacted a Maltacom representative who is responsible of the card
phone system. We were told that the reason that triggered this upgrade
was that the chip used on the current telecards is being phased out by
its manufacturers. Faced with this problem, Maltacom had to decide
whether to upgrade the current phones or switch completely to a more
modern system. The second option was selected mainly because the cost
to upgrade the current network was too high, and it was cheaper to
start from scratch!
Regarding user experience, the new phones are expected to be very
similar to the current ones - simply insert the card in the slot and
dial out. No pins, no nothing. Just dial your number as you're used to.
The one advantage that one may notice is that while the old phones used
a "pulse" system in order to charge for calls, where a card had a
number of pulses - costing around 5c every pulse and you are charged by
the pulse, the new phones have a modern system that supports more
granular charging. Therefore, when dialling abroad from a card phone,
one will be charged by the second, rather than in 5c increments.
As you might have already assumed, the new telephones will be using a different
card, and therefore you will have to get rid of your current cards
shortly. The new network will start being rolled out in September, and
Maltacom is suggesting you aim to use up your cards between October and
December.
A photo of the new telephone may be seen on the left.
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| Last Updated ( Wednesday, 24 May 2006 ) |
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