wartel

Wartel or Warung Telekomunikasi (telecommunication kiosk) was created in in the early 1980s to provide the public with easier access to various telecommunication services such as local, long distance, and international telephone calls, facsimili, telegrams, etc. at an era when access to telecommunication services was very limited.

Before the advent of mobile or cellular telephones in the late 1990s, wartel was a lucrative business. Now that nearly everybody has a cell phone, it has mostly become a relic of the past.