www.tatateleservices.com/June998.asp -
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Published on: 4/28/2001
Last Visited: 6/24/2002
Mr. Sanjay Sood, Vice President and Managing Director, Schlumberger said, "Schlumberger has completed 65 years in India, and we are glad to enter this year by making a foray into the smart card payphone business with the TATAs."
Prepaid smart phone cards were implemented in the early 1980's in response to the lack of security and high cost of public phone systems.Currently over 80 countries throughout the world use smart cards in payphones, and the world market is expected to be well over 1 billion cards in the year 2000.Smart cards are a relatively new technology that already affects the everyday lives of millions of people.This is just the beginning and it will ultimately influence the way we shop, see the doctor, use the telephone and enjoy leisure," added Mr. Sood.
The smart cards is essentially the size of a standard plastic "credit card' with an embedded computer chip.The chip holds various types of information in electronic form with sophisticated security mechanisms.It has succeeded in bringing its presence into the hands and wallets of millions of people, replacing coins and bank notes for everyday purchases.
TATA Teleservices Ltd is the private operator licensed to provide basic telephony services to Andhra Pradesh.TATA Teleservices is in its advanced stage of implementation and is expected to commence operations shortly.