Date Published: 19/11/2021
ARCHIVED - Public telephone booths to disappear in Spain
The vast majority of people in Spain have never used a public pay phone
The Spanish government announced on Tuesday November 16 that it plans to remove all public telephone boxes from the country’s streets. Officials had opted to eliminate phone booths on many occasions but they had several reprieves, due more to nostalgia than any real practical need.
Fewer than 20% of people have ever even used a public telephone, and while they are now more suited to museum displays, they have existed in Spain for more than a century. Those still in place are rarely used and are often subject to vandalism, leading officials to plan their removal in the second half of 2022 as no telecommunication company is willing to take over.
Around 15,000 telephone boxes survive in Spain today, with the current law stipulating that there must be at least one public pay phone for every 3,000 inhabitants in larger municipalities.
Telefónica currently manages the contract but with an average of just 1.15 calls being placed per day, it’s a business model that no longer makes any financial sense.
The new law will include an extension of the functions of the 112 emergency number in Spain with experts looking at developing a public alert system in addition to allowing operators access to a mobile phone’s location in the case of an emergency. In an attempt to ensure more rights for customers, mobile contracts will be limited to 24 months and service packages will be regulated for the first time.
Image: Tomi T Ahonen on Twitte
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