Call shop
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A call shop (or public call offices[1] in the Commonwealth and it's former colonies, and historically, a pay station in the United States[2]) is a business providing on-site access to telephones, generally focusing on long-distance calling in countries without widespread home long-distance service.
History
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Call shops originally existed as an alternative to pay telephones.[3] Over time, call shops have primarily developed in countries where landline telephones are unaffordable or long-distance service is expensive[4][5] and in some cases, have allowed low income business owners to act as independent call centre agents.[6] Call shops have become less common as the cost of mobile phone service has declined.[7][8]
Services
[edit]Many call shops offer multiple services.
Telephone calls
[edit]Prepaid
[edit]A customer visits the call shop, and either purchases a calling card or pays the operator for the call. The operator then activates a particular phone booth for the customer. The customer then goes to the phone booth and dials the destination number.
Postpaid calls
[edit]Postpaid calling operates in a similar manner, except that when the customer has completed their call(s) the call-shop operator generates an invoice. This is a popular option for informal call centers today, and in the past when calls were completed by an operator.[1][5]
Fax
[edit]Internet cafe
[edit]In many countries, call shops were briefly combined or replaced by internet cafés.[9][10]
See also
[edit] | This article related to telephony is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by adding missing information. |
References
[edit]- 1 2 Servants, Great Britain Parliament House of Commons Select Committee on Post Office (1913). Minutes of Evidence, Taken Before the Select Committee on Post Office Servants: (wages and Conditions of Employment). H.M. Stationery Office. p. 1327.
- ↑ McKay, Charles Watson (1921). Telephone Rates and Values. Cornhill Publishing Company.
- ↑ Relations, Great Britain Office of Commonwealth (1940). The Dominions Office and Colonial Office List for ... Waterlow & Sons, Limited.
- ↑ Sabaté i Dalmau, Maria (2014). Migrant communication enterprises: regimentation and resistance. Language, mobility and institutions. Bristol ; Buffalo: Multilingual Matters. ISBN 978-1-78309-217-8.
- 1 2 Chipchase, Jan; Steinhardt, Simon (2013-04-16). Hidden in Plain Sight: How to Create Extraordinary Products for Tomorrow's Customers. Harper Collins. ISBN 978-0-06-212571-2.
- ↑ Buskens, Ineke; Webb, Anne (April 1, 2009). African Women and ICTs: Investigating Technology, Gender and Empowerment. IDRC. ISBN 978-1-84813-192-7.
- ↑ "PCO booth owners in APMC market want to diversify". Mumbai Mirror. Retrieved 2026-10-31.
- 1 2 GómezSeguir, Por Abigail Villantoy (2024-02-25). "El fin de una era: ¿cuál fue el declive de los locutorios en el Perú?". infobae (in Spanish). Retrieved 2026-10-31.
- ↑ Donovan, Molly, ed. (2007-11-27). Let's Go Ireland 13th Edition. Let's Go Inc. ISBN 978-0-312-37456-3.
- ↑ Bocek, Fabian (2022-05-17). Ersatz Capitalism and Industrial Policy in Southeast Asia: A Comparative Institutional Analysis of Indonesia and Malaysia. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-000-60156-5.