AS leaders in the telecoms sector, we pride ourselves on being at the forefront of technology and service delivery. Yet we are still human and felt a noticeable pang of nostalgia with the announcement of the retirement of half the remaining phone boxes around the UK.
Before mobiles became popular in the early nineties, phone boxes were a familiar sight and fundamental to maintaining contact with associates, colleagues, friends or family members when out and about.
While still used by children, the elderly, those who can’t afford mobile phones and in emergencies, the cost of maintaining these boxes runs to about £6 million annually. With only 33,000 calls being made annually from phone boxes and approximately a third of kiosks are never used.
This is understandable due to the rise in use of hand-held devices. Over 90 per cent of people in the UK own a mobile phone meaning personal and professional life can now be managed while on the move and the demise of the kiosk has become inevitable.
Working with companies across Northern Ireland, we have watched and relished being part of the mobile office evolution as software and hardware capabilities expand exponentially to facilitate growth and help businesses establish a competitive foothold within the marketplace.
What can businesses and employees on the move across the rest of the UK do to maintain high levels of connectivity, now that we don’t have to rummage in our pockets for 50 pence pieces on street corners?
I’ve mentioned before, how, in 2025, all public PSTN and ISDN lines will be switched off, migrating business land-line users to a single IP core network, which will provide a greater level of accessibility for employees working remotely, needing only an internet connection for all voice traffic, data transfer, video and conference calling.
In the meantime, companies can prepare by initiating change across their own networks and placing their faith in “the cloud”.
Cloud phone systems deliver feature rich telephony environments that are flexible, resilient and generally deliver savings on traditional ISDN telephony solutions.
These cloud phone systems also connect seamlessly with the business mobiles, enabling your workforce to be contactable whenever and wherever they are on their land-line, mobile or even remote conferencing from a connected device.
For ease of use and peace of mind, an integrated network and connected workforce will open doors and create opportunities for any business. Make sure you aren’t that business that is fumbling for 50p coins to remain in contact with your workforce.
The modern world, however, still needs to find a solution for the vulnerable who still need access to a phone box for communication.
:: Eric Carson is director of Northern Ireland's largest independent telecom providers Rainbow (www.rainbowcomms.com) and has been a pioneer of the local telecoms industry for nearly 20 years.
