The Future of Pay Phones

Telco regulator Anatel is seeking new business models for pay phones. In 2004, 42 percent of population used orelhaos vs. 4 percent in 2010 as mobile phones became widespread. Prepaid magnetic cards will be discontinued in three years as only 132M were manufactured in 2011 vs. 650M in 2006. The following new payment methods are being tested: pre-paid, debit and credit cards. Anatel is also open to add publicity in calls provided there are incentives to customers. There are 847,000 pay phones in Brazil, 15 percent of which don’t work.