Racal Vodafone has licensed a new company, Capital Taxiphones Ltd, to install its cellular telephones in London taxis. The company sees a ready market for the cellular phones, particularly tourists who rightly complain that public phones in London are few and far between – even if they haven’t been vandalised. According to the Financial Times, Capital Taxiphones is looking to have phones in 1,000 cabs by year-end, and in 5,000 by 1990. Charges will be steep – 75 pence minimum, and something like UKP1.25 a minute for calls within central London. The company, which will buy its first phones from Panasonic but hopes to use ones made in the UK by Motorola later, is backed by venture capitalists led by Alan Patricof Associates.
