Information kiosks and customs kiosks are appearing in airports. The 21st century is in travelers' faces no matter which sector they work for. Card Tricks Before prepaid phone cards, the 5,500 sailors aboard the aircraft carrier USS Kennedy could only make personal calls from the ship in emergencies using expensive International Maritime Satellite Transmission technology. The cards work on land, too, at pay phones. With prepaid cards, telephone service is purchased in advance.
Users dial a toll-free number and enter a personal identification number to activate their accounts.
A familiar retailer's name on the front of a card is no guarantee that the distributor is dependable, as Kmart customers found out last year when the store's distributor ran into trouble. Cards on sale at federal facilities are safe because telephone carriers supply them directly to the government. Cards sold at federal installations often feature illustrations to warm a fed's heart. MCI has custom-designed a series of five cards to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the U.S. Air Force, for example. Some business travelers already swear by another new type of phone card-the enhanced calling card.