I am upset
There is a clear opportunity to turn these into WiFi hotspots. Remove the phone, just have a mast and you'll provide the current generation of users with what they actually want.
Proximus, the Belgian mobile operator, is about to complete the process of removing its last 300 phone boxes. The last will be ceremonially felled on June 1 in Antwerp. As part of the removal of the phone boxes, thirty of them were put up as prizes in a competition which took the form of a cultural project. (link via Google …
"There is a clear opportunity to turn these into WiFi hotspots. Remove the phone, just have a mast and you'll provide the current generation of users with what they actually want"
Been there, done that! - there's been WiFi hotspots on many phone boxes in New Zealand for at least a couple of years now - and you get 1GB/day for free if you're with the carrier that owns the phone boxes.
To be fair they don't all look like that. On the other hand I've never seen a nice one.
For the phone box fanciers, you'll note that the one in the picture is marked "Belgacom" which has recently been re-branded Proximus. Proximus used to be the mobile phone arm of Belgacom, although they were officially separated for a while. The logo on this one is fairly recent.
I'm also not convinced the article is correct as there's one near me (some way from Antwerp) which shows no signs of being removed.
"Or how about phone charging centres?
Just somewhere you could recharge your phone for ten minutes - enough to get it working again to phone home or a taxi."
Not a bad thought, though you're still up the creek if your phone is stolen (or left in the car of the friends who just ditched you). Sometimes, all you want is an actual phone you can pick up and dial.