Vienna phone booth in Taubigengasse: dismantling is imminent!

Vienna phone booth in Taubigengasse: dismantling is imminent!

in Vienna, more precisely in Taubengasse, a well -tried telephone booth ensures excitement among the residents. According to a report by MeinDzirk not only polluted, but also filled up to the edge with cigarettes and plastic bottles. The residents have not seen a single calling for years, which raises the question: is it time for a breakdown?

District head Lea Halbwidl (SPÖ) addressed the problems related to the telephone booths in the district and confirmed that some cells have already been mined and converted - including popular book cups. This is reflected in a larger trend: the use of public telephone booths has decreased significantly in Austria and also in Germany in recent years, especially since the simplification through the spread of mobile phones.

The slow farewell to old telephone booths

The decline in telephone booths is a development that not only affects Vienna. Historically, the “telephone kiosk”, as the first telephone booth was called, was an important means of communication in Berlin from 1881. However, since the 1990s, when the telecommunications market was liberalized, mobile phones have gained importance and have reduced the need for public phones. DStGB that the number of active public telephone numbers in Germany decreased from over 160,000 in 1997 to only approx. 14,000 in 2022.

With the introduction of the Telecommunications Act 2021, the operator A1 was released from the obligation to operate telephone booths. Since then, the company has regularly evaluated when and where dismantling work takes place. In the next few months, the telephone booth will also be dismantled in the deaf alley alley, which for some residents means a profit of cleanliness on the one hand, but also loses a piece of familiar infrastructure on the other hand.

practical challenges in dismantling

The dismantling of telephone booths is often a complex process. As Ingenieur.de , various bureaucratic hurdles must be taken before dismantling. This includes the shutdown of the electricity and the application for numerous permits. Often the repair of the paving surfaces after breakdown is also a necessary step that can also slow down the entire process.

But whether these challenges will stall the dismantling of the cell in Taubengasse. What is certain is that in the course of digitization and changing communication habits, the dismantling of telephone booths is the logical consequence, and the future is increasingly pushing towards mobile communication.