Senegal plots the return of the phone booth

The government of Senegal is looking to nurture the return of public payphones in the country, with the head of the Development Fund for Universal Telecommunications Services (FDSUT), Koto Aly Ndiaye, announcing a three-year plan to put phone booths back in service. The FDSUT president says that the strategy plan will be discussed at length under a proposed triennial programme, noting that the installation of public payphones has been overlooked until now due to the widespread take-up of mobile services – even in remote parts of Senegal. However, the government concedes that due to ongoing issues of mobile service quality and coverage, having payphones in certain areas – such as hospitals, bus stations, shopping malls and petrol stations – makes sense to ensure a robust service is available if and when needed.