Highland Council reacts on payphone removal decision
Highland Council has sent a scathing response to BT’s proposal to remove 107 of its 348 public call boxes across the Highlands.
Under Ofcom guidelines, the local authority is responsible for co-ordinating a consultation and responding on behalf of the region.
Based upon feedback, the council objected to 65 public call boxes being removed and expressed support for a further three being adopted by the local community. It comes just nine months after a similar consultation. Council convener Bill Lobban said: “Local call boxes act as a life-line in our remote rural areas with poor, inconsistent, or sometimes no mobile signal, and for communities experiencing greater levels of poverty, where some may not always be able to afford use of a mobile phone.
“I am pleased there was support across the chamber that we send our robust response to BT as I am not at all pleased that this has had to be dealt with so shortly after we previously responded to the consultation last year.”
A BT spokesman said: “BT is committed to providing a public payphone service and listening to the communities we serve. With usage declining by over 90 per cent in the last decade, we’ve continued to review our payphone estate.
“We will review any feedback. If the authority tells us that it would like to keep particular payphones, or adopt them, they will remain.”
