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It's an interesting time to be in Burma. After decades as a backwater pariah the scope and pace of change today is staggering - not an easy thing for locals to fathom nor foreigners to keep up with. Take for instance the Public Call Office (PCO) - the Burmese answer to the phone booth.

In the 1990s it cost $3500 to get a private line installed. As you might imagine not many could afford it so entrepreneurs set up street-side phones like this one. In bygone days long queues would often form around them - but that era has rapidly come to a close.

Mobile phones were slow in arriving and were even more expensive. A decade ago a SIM card - at $5000 each - was a big ticket item in the flourishing black market. But today you can get one for $10 - and everyone wants one.

The PCO is for sure a dying business but it still has its uses. With all the new gizmos available mobile lines are often overburdened and coverage outside the main cities is spotty at best.