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CTCL Network Terminal
Location: Taiwan
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Chunghwa Telecom Co, Ltd. (CTCL), the largest telecommunication carrier in Taiwan, owns over US$13.19 billion in assets and US$5.34 billion in revenue is expected in 1998. For several decades, it monopolized Taiwan's telecommunication and now it is an independent publicly listed company with a responsibility to its shareholders. Through restructuring, CTCL has refined its global strategy to focus more on new telecommunication applications. Its goal is to develop Taiwan as an international telecommunication transit hub and provide advanced global telecommunication services to the rest of the world.
Public phones have remained unchanged for decades, providing only voice communication. Currently, CTCL has been integrating PC networking and an Internet payment system into public phones, the so-called "Network Terminals". These terminals will hopefully bring the people of Taiwan into an integrated telecommunication society.
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 The Network Terminals will first be installed and replacing traditional phones in airports and international hotels. They will provide users with the ability to surf the Internet, check and send e-mail, make purchases online and use other network applications.
Tens of Network Terminals will be installed in CKS Airport. In July 1998, more terminals have been installed at other airports, railway & bus stations, transit thoroughfares and shopping malls. Each terminal consists of core PC hardware - Advantech's PPC-140T with keyboard and 13.8" LCD display, IC-card reader, and specially designed applications and Internet features, thus becoming a multifunctional information station.
The IC-card reader is to provide credit card payment solutions for Internet commerce and transactions. If no one is using the terminal, the LCD display can be used for advertising or real-time public information such as weather reports and the stock market index.
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The Network Terminal is a combination of four sub-systems. To ensure the security of the terminal, CTCL developed a transparent chassis, which complies with the NEMA 4/12 standard. It is made of aluminum and plastic and it features a lockable keyboard, a special designed mouse module, card reader, fan module and a 110VAC input power module. The second sub-system is a PPC-140T unit without the touch screen, equipped with a Pentium 200MMX CPU, 64MB of RAM, 10/100 Base-T Ethernet, 4COM ports, a sound card and Windows95, Netscape and PC-cillin. The third sub-system is the "ISDN Network Termination 1" (NT-1). It includes "Network U Interface" and a "Terminal S/T Interface" and is a connecting system for all functions provided by the other sub-systems. The final sub-system is the ISDN Terminal Adapter (TA). The TA supports CTCL's ISDN exchanger, two B channels, a modem and other connectivity functions.
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Convenient Communication
Although e-mail has become a necessity in daily life, most people are still confined to their offices for e-mail usage and notebook users often find it hard to find an Ethernet port to connect to the Internet. The Network Terminal solves these problems by making information and communication readily accessible for the public.
Cost Effective
The use of ISDN is much cheaper than that of conventional phones. In Taiwan, for example, it costs US$0.17 per minute for a local call by cellular phone, but only US$0.019 per minute by ISDN. This is a saving of almost 90%.
Information Desk
The Network Terminal can also act as a versatile information terminal since it can access and display different channels or media, such as TV news, newspapers, economic reports from the stock exchange or airline information from the airport. With access to the Internet, the Network Terminal can now serve as the first line information window.
In the end of 1998, 125 new Network Terminals have been installed at CKS International Airport. In 1999, the Network Terminal will become the symbol of Taiwan's information society with over 2000 units installed nation wide.
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