(Image Credit: New World Payphones)
The original ‘K2’ red phone boxes are iconic, but many have fallen into disrepair and feel like relics from before the smartphone era. New World Payphones is reinventing the classic red booth with features designed for modern urban life.
New World Payphones operates one of the largest payphone fleets in the UK. Their booths first started appearing on London streets in August 1996, and by the following September their network had reached 500 units. By early 1999 the number had more than doubled to around 1,200 public phone booths.
This launch will see us declutter high streets and plant hundreds of trees in urban areas
Keeping the famous K2 design by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott from 1924, the refurbished boxes include high-speed WiFi provided by Virgin Media to improve local connectivity. Each unit will also feature a touchscreen for accessing local services and digital advertising screens that create new revenue streams.
Professor Nigel Linge of the University of Salford’s telecommunications program commented: “Our communication needs are always evolving. This model meets the demand for modern connectivity while preserving a design steeped in history. It is both a technological and aesthetic success and will help ensure phone boxes remain a visible part of our high streets for years to come.”
Manufactured in Bolton by Amscreen, the company owned by Lord Alan Sugar, 100 upgraded phone boxes have already been installed across several London boroughs:
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Barking
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Barnet
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Bexley
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Brent
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Croydon
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Enfield
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Haringey
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Harrow
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Hillingdon
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Southwark
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Tower Hamlets
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Waltham Forest
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Wandsworth
Although the initial rollout is focused in London, TelecomsTech reports plans to expand with an additional 500 units nationwide before the end of the year.
Lord Sugar praised British manufacturing: “I hold UK manufacturing in the highest regard. It has long been a global benchmark for quality, and I’m proud to see Amscreen continue that tradition on a project of this scale. I am confident our digital signage expertise, combined with New World Payphones’ vision and Virgin Media’s high-grade technology, has created a new addition to our national phone box collection—one that could become as iconic as the K2.”
To avoid the neglected appearance that older booths often suffer, revenue from digital advertising will fund weekly maintenance—four times more frequent than current schedules. In addition, New World Payphones has committed to planting one tree in a local urban area for every phone box upgraded, partnering with the charity Trees for Cities.
Justin Cochrane, CEO of Clear Channel UK, owner of New World Payphones, said: “We’re excited to launch the phone box for the 21st century. These new booths deliver multiple public benefits, including telephone access, WiFi, and local area information. This rollout will help declutter high streets, plant hundreds of trees in urban areas, and provide a timely boost for British manufacturing.”
Are you impressed with the new phone boxes? Share your thoughts in the comments.