Gb: plan to save thousands of phone booths from closing

(ANSA) – LONDON, 09 NOV – In the era of smartphones and hyperconnection, the British regulatory authority for communication companies, Ofcom, goes against the tide and launches a plan to ‘save’ thousands of public telephone booths, recognizable throughout the world for their typical red color, which has been closed for some time. The body has in fact pronounced itself against the indiscriminate retirement of those that remain fundamental means of communication for some areas of the United Kingdom, with low mobile telephone coverage, and which represent a real “lifeline” in case of emergency.

It is therefore expected that about 5 thousand telephone booths will be protected by the dismantling plans of the telephone giant BT on the basis of a series of parameters that make their presence necessary: ​​in addition to poor telephone coverage, if they are in isolated areas where they often occur accidents or cases of suicide, if at least 52 calls were made at that point in the past year, or if emergency numbers were used.

It is estimated that around 96% of adults in the UK own a mobile phone. “Some of the phone booths we intend to protect are used to make relatively few calls,” said Ofcom executive Selina Chadha. “But if one of those calls comes from a child in need, an accident victim, or someone thinking about suicide, that public telephone line can be a lifeline in a time of great need.” (HANDLE).

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Source From: Ansa

Martin

I have been working in the news industry for over 10 years now and I have worked for some of the biggest news websites in the world. My focus has always been on entertainment news, but I also cover a range of other topics. I am currently an author at Global happenings and I love writing about all things pop-culture related.