Britain's Phone Boxes to Stay

Reasons behind objections against Britain’s phone boxes.

20:47 08 October 2018

The rise of mobile devices has rendered classic red telephone booths obsolete but many phone companies are not ready to give up their rights to the sidewalk. Under British rules, phone boxes are still considered a vital infrastructure and companies with proper licenses are allowed to keep building them as long as they obtain permission from local councils. To keep up with changing times, phone companies are replacing phone booths with kiosks that feature two-sided digital displays with internet connectivity and touch-screen maps that flash craft beer and credit card ads – something that most critics describe as an eye sore.

 

John Walker, director of planning for Westminster City Council, said: “A lot of them are advertising totems with a telephone handset on it. They’re just a blot on the landscape.”

 

Matthew Carmona, a professor of planning and urban design at University College London, said the situation “has, in a way, caught policymakers by surprise”. After removing phone boxes that fell into disuse with the rise of mobile phones, he said, “the phone companies have realised they can make money from them in a different way, and in doing that they can bypass any regulations”.