Beijing Unicom said Wednesday they launched a trial service in early October which allows customers to use telephone kiosks to make calls which will then be charged to their cellphone or home fixed line accounts. 

While battery-hungry iPhone owners gave the service a thumbs up, others noted that there are not enough telephone kiosks in Beijing.

An anonymous Beijing Unicom customer service operator said that the service was only for the Beijing market. It is intended for mobile users to make phone calls when their mobile is powered off, not in service or with no communication fee in their account.

"You need your mobile number and service password that comes with the number to access the service. The fee is charged from your cell account at 0.1 yuan per minute," he said.

The rate is 0.05 yuan cheaper than using an IC card or coins to make a call at a public kiosk.

"The service is accessible at all unattended public telephones," he said, adding that customers with a fixed line can also access the service.

The Global Times tried the service at several public telephones in the central business district, and they all proved accessible. After dialing 1608888, you key in your cellphone number and the password to access the service.

Smartphone owner Zhao Lin, 19, said that she did not know of the service but likes the idea.

"My iPhone often runs out of battery and this is a good, cheap alternative," she said. However, she said there is often a lack of public telephones in the city.

"In order to access the service, It might take me some time to look for a kiosk, and that will be inconvenient," she noted.

Xiang Ligang, a telecommunication expert, said the service would not be very useful.

"The numbers of kiosks and the users are fewer than before," he said. 

Although Xiang said the service has no safety concerns, he noted that the service password needs to be kept safely since anyone who knows it could check the private call and message log.

Tang Liuming, the media officer of Beijing Unicom, confirmed the launch of this service, but noted they do not want to promote it now since the current service system is still on trial and incomplete.

"Also, if everyone uses this service, it will cause a lot of pressure to the current telecom platform," he said. Tang did not specify the official launch date.

Currently, there are around 50,000 public telephones available, but many of them are no longer used because so many people have cellphones, the Beijing Youth Daily reported Friday.