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Hanging up on the payphone
07.06.11
THE number of public
payphones continues to plummet in Inishowen as
elsewhere with eircom reporting a record low of just
1,400 still standing nationwide.
At the beginning of 2009, the company announced its
intention to start removing some 2,150 of its
remaining 4,850 public payphones. The latest figures
show that a total of 3,450 payphones have since been
discontinued. |
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The company's latest
research, however, shows that people still pop into
a kiosk if they're out of credit or if their mobile
phone battery is dead.
"Our most recent research into payphone usage shows
that the most common reasons for using a public
payphone was because the caller had no credit on
their mobile phone, their mobile battery was dead or
they had forgotten or lost their mobile phone," said
an eircom spokesperson.
But half of those surveyed said it was "very
unlikely" they would use a payphone in the next 12
months.
The minimum call charge at an eircom payphone is now
€1 for a local or national call lasting four
minutes.
"eircom continuously monitors payphones for levels
of customer usage and in the last number of years
there has been a significant decline in call volumes
from payphones. |
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The phone box in Malin - often
photographed by tourists. |
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"The widespread
increase in mobile phone usage has undoubtedly had
an impact on the payphone market." One of
Inishowen's favourite (and working) phone boxes is
located in picturesque Malin village and is the
subject of countless tourist photos throughout the
year. |
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