Orange (France Telecom) and JCDecaux have just launched a 6-month experiment with a new type of phone booth in Paris. Fitted with a 17” touch-screen, it proposes an extended range of services: VOIP calls, geo-located services (i.e. what restaurants, cinemas, underground stations etc… are near me?) as well as Internet and e-mail access.

A total of twelve prototypes have been installed in four tourist areas (Eiffel Tower, Montmartre, Champs-Élysées, the Marais), in two residential districts (La Villette, Place d’Italie), two student areas (Saint-Michel, Saint-Germain) and three shopping areas (Haussmann, Montparnasse, Bercy).

JCDecaux is responsible for upkeep and maintenance. One can easily imagine that the company will also be in charge of monetizing the installations with advertising – either in the form of static postering (on the rear of the booth) and/or in the form of digital advertising on the screens.