Telephone booths-their fight for a second life

Telephone booths-their fight for a second life

There is no denying that the technology industry is one of the fastest growing industries in the world. Incredibly, this development affects all our lives. Many inventions are now only in our memories. In an era where everyone owns a smartphone, phone booths have become an unnecessary element in our fast-paced world. However, we can’t imagine the sight of certain places without them. Well, can you imagine London without the iconic red phone booth? Although these iconic objects have already disappeared from many places around the world, the British government, wants to protect them like an endangered species.

The importance of phone booths in the UK

Probably hearing the phrase “phone booth”, images of London appear in your mind. No wonder, since for the British themselves they are a London symbol, which they put on a par with double-decker buses and Big Ben. Unfortunately, they have also begun to be dismantled en masse in the UK, so the government reacted almost immediately to these activities.

Phone booth security-why is it so important?

Ofcom is the British state body, and it is in charge of controlling and supervising the media and telecommunications market. In order to protect phone booths, it has introduced new rules, and there are still 1,400 such facilities left in the UK. They are mostly located in rural areas. Ofcom has ordered British Telecom (BT) to halt the removal of phone booths, citing the needs of the local community as the main reasons for its decision. In some areas, cell coverage is very poor, so many accidents and even suicides tend to occur in such locations. Calls from these locations to lines that are dedicated to protecting children are very often reported, one of them is Childline, are the information reported by the BBC.

In fact, nowadays every Briton has a cell phone, and it would seem that public payphones, which are very unprofitable for operators, are useless anymore. However, their uselessness is not a foregone conclusion, in areas where there is very poor coverage, 15,000 emergency calls were made in one year, not much right? So this is the main reason that the existing telephone booths should not be taken out of service, this could end in tragedy for many people. Red phone booths are a very sensitive topic for the British. They were designed by Giles Gilbert Scott and are a landmark symbol that is as important to the Islanders as London’s double-decker buses, and a very popular and beloved tourist site by visitors – Big Ben.

Ofcom’s Communications Director, Ms. Selina Chadha, in an interview with the BBC, made it clear that the Islanders’ symbol of red phone booths can still serve, as a vital emergency line. It can often be used to call hotlines for help or connect to specific services. She also expressed a firm opinion on the elimination of these red boxes, namely conveying that Ofcom’s new rules will ensure that many thousands of boxes will be protected for as long as needed.

Other uses of phone booths

Unfortunately, despite their best efforts, British Telecom (BT) continues to remove the phone booths that are used the least. An appalling number of these red boxes have been removed in a decade, as many as 33,000. So it was proposed that the phone booths be bought out by city authorities, they were to cost £1, of course this gave the option to use them for any purpose. Ofcom officially conveyed that about 6,000 of the phone booths that were sold are now used for other purposes. They are used, for example, as points with defibrillators, mini-libraries and points with information for tourists.

However, there are more extravagant ideas for the use of phone booths. The town of Kingsbridge, which is located in Devon County, has made its red phone booth into something like a nightclub. It has adequate lighting and a sound system. For only £1, you can turn on the music and start a memorable party.

Phone booths around the world

It’s not just in the UK that phone booths are iconic objects, a similar view is held by residents of New York, who strongly disliked their removal in the city. It is worth noting that in many older American films, the phone booth is ubiquitous. The most popular films in which it can be found are: “Die Hard III”, “The Matrix” and “Telephone”, where practically all the action of the film takes place in a 1 sq. m. phone booth. For the main character is kept there and controlled by a sniper-psychopath. In order to survive, he must confess his sins. However, the authorities in New York are trying to respect the love of the city’s residents for phone booths and are installing ones that will work in the 21st century, that is, equipped with Internet access and giving the ability to charge a cell phone.

In Poland, 2017 saw the disconnection of the last telephone booths. In 2000, there were still as many as 95,000 of them. Today they end up on private plots of land, serving as shower stalls or changing rooms. Some Polish cities are acting similarly to the UK and turning phone booths into libraries, for example.

Summary

Phone booth aficionados are delighted with the idea of turning them into mini-libraries or tourist spots, for example. They are an important element that adorns the streets of many cities. Who doesn’t associate a red phone booth with London? There are many active phone booths in the UK, and they are used by people who are in places where there is no coverage.