More and more countries are abandoning the placement of street telephone sets, the maintenance of which is becoming economically unprofitable
As reported by "Russkaya Germaniya", in accordance with the new telecommunications law, Austria is abandoning payphones. There they are still often found, but are used less and less. Currently, there are only 11,000 telephone booths in Austria.
Previously, the country's leading telecommunications companies were obliged to provide the population with universal and diverse communication services, which required the placement of at least one telephone booth per 1.5-3 thousand residents. However, the new bill will relieve them of this obligation, and overall the number of telephone booths in Austria is gradually decreasing – over the past 5 years, there are 5,000 fewer of them. Almost all telephone booths are empty, but they are often subject to vandal attacks.
The telecommunications company A1 Telekom found that payphones are most often used either by people with low incomes who cannot afford mobile communication, or by mobile phone owners in case the battery runs out. In addition, payphones are used by tourists who do not plan to stay in the country for a long time and buy local SIM cards or use their provider's roaming services. As a result, the amounts received from payment for communication services do not cover the costs of maintaining payphones, making the business unprofitable.
Already in 2017, the total traffic in Austrian telephone booths amounted to 2.8 million minutes, which is negligible compared to the traffic of mobile networks over the same period – 21.8 billion minutes. Telephone companies consider it reasonable to leave telephone booths only in the most crowded places – in shopping centers and at train stations.
In other countries, the situation is either the same or even more radical. For example, the Swiss authorities relieved Swisscom of the obligation to service payphones. Their history ended in November 2019, when the last unit was dismantled. However, the memory remains: the last booth was preserved and has since been exhibited in a museum.
In France and Belgium, all street telephone sets were removed back in 2015. The same fate befell the world-famous British red telephone booths. At the same time, when removing payphones, the telecom operator offers local authorities or private owners of the land on which the famous red booth is located to buy it for a symbolic sum – 1 pound. This offer is in demand; many willingly buy the booths and then transform them, giving them new looks according to their tastes.
China approached the fate of telephone booths no less creatively. In Shanghai, street telephone booths were turned into rest areas equipped with everything necessary for short-term relaxation, privacy, and escape from the urban hustle and bustle: shelves with newspapers, benches, tables, and USB chargers for modern – mobile – phones.