New Zealand Converting Old Phone Booths Into National WiFi Network

An anonymous reader writes "What do you do with old public phone boxes hardly anyone uses? Convert them into a national network of WiFi hotspots is the answer in New Zealand. While others have converted their old phone booths into libraries, toilets, showers and even smoking booths, in New Zealand 700 hotspots will be live by 7 October with a target of 2000 by the middle of 2014. 1Gb of data will be free to customers of the incumbent operator, others have to pay for monthly access."

Re:WTF ?

[Thanshin]

They don't want their customers to have free wifi. They want their customers to have free wifi and everybody else passing every day by a 500kg reminder of them not being with the correct operator.

Re:WTF ?

[NonFerrousBueller]

You're missing the point. These locations already exist, have leases, power, data, and a visual presence. Hopefully paid data will help subsidise these dinosaurs. I haven't used one in almost a decade; it was before I had a cell phone and wanted to call someone that did have a cell phone without my (then) wife knowing about it. Even then the phone didn't take coins, so I had to go into the adjoining dairy (convenience store) to buy card, which I never used up. I sympathise a bit - just a bit - with Telecom as in our neighbourhood these phone boxes are routinely etched or the glass smashed. I have no idea how they've been making money for the last few years.

They did set this network up as free to use for all in the Canterbury area after the quakes, which I thought was nice.

Re:WTF ?

[Sockatume]

PROTIP: if your first thought on reading about a project is "that's so flagrantly impractical as to be absurd", it is possible that you have misread it.

Not a good idea

[Anonymous Coward]

Meanwhile, in Sweden:
2007: Converting phone booths to hotspots: http://news.cision.com/teliasonera/r/sweden-s-telephone-booths-to-become-surfing-booths,c287332
2013: Telephone booths start to disappear, to be finished 2015: http://telekomidag.se/telefonkiosken-forsvinner-2015/

It is not profitable or useful to operate phone booths or hotspots when 3G is ubiquitous. In Sweden, we have internet access at any time, so there is no need at all for these artifacts. My bet is New Zealand will realise this soon enough.