
There are still 16,000 public telephones in Spain

Spain has a law to provide at least one payphone for every 3,000 inhabitants, even though an average of one call a day is made from them.
New data reveals that Spain currently has over 16,000 public payphone dotted around the length of breadth of Spain even though an average of one call a day is made from them.
Telefonica sources cited by news agency Efe revealed that Spain’s biggest telecommunications company currently spends €4.52 million a year maintaining the phone booths.
Despite the fact that they are rarely used, Telefonica is tied to a “universal service obligation” imposed by the government to provide and maintain in working order a public payphone for every 3,000 inhabitants in each town of 1,000 or more and one cabin in all municipalities of less than 1,000 inhabitants.
The company estimates that of the 16,000 currently in use, half are almost never used and 12,000 ceased to be profitable years ago, losing the company some €3 million a year.
The number of payphones has been vastly reduced since the introduction of mobile phones. Twenty years ago there were almost four times as many payphones across Spain – 55,000 payphones available in 1999 – and you could expect to find one on many a street corner.
Spain’s communications regulator CNMC has called on the government to drop the universal service obligation for public payphones after a recent survey found that nearly 9 in 10 Spaniards (88 percent) admitted to never having used a public payphone in their life.
When was the last time you used one?
READ ALSO: Could technology be killing off Spain’s sociable mealtimes?
Related News:
MX Financial Intelligence Unit Freezes Genaro García Luna's Bank Accounts as Former Mx President Fox…
Alibaba’s shares climb almost 8% in their first morning of trading on the Hong Kong stock exchange
Colombia Criminals Confuse Authorities with False Identities
PBSC Partners with Careem in Dubai to Launch First Large-Scale Electric Bike-Share Network in the Middle East
Judge orders Union Pacific to rehire engineer who defecated on train
$125 million for Inscripta may usher in the next wave of genetic engineering
Jenni Rivera: The interview she did not want revealed while she was alive
The downsides of moving to Spain for work
When it comes to environmental issues, just how 'green' is Spain?
Blood for Blood: The History of “El Macho Prieto”
The immense fortune of Caro Quintero: What the “Narco de Narcos” accumulated while in prison
DGCX Wins ‘Exchange Of The Year – Middle East And Africa’ at FOW International Awards 2019
Liberia Loses US$15 Million for Road Maintenance From United States Government - Front Page Africa
United States Faces Possible French Fry Shortage
Balconing: New computer game promises all of the ‘fun’ without the risk
IN PICS: Women across Spain take to streets against gender violence and the far right Vox party
'El Chuta', the paratrooper who became a Zetas founder
Photo Essay of a Mexican Murder Victim
Cemei Verdia, Former Autodefensa, Ambushed In Colima
Ruth Bader Ginsburg released from hospital after experiencing fever, chills
United States 'stealing' Syria's oil. Damascus announces 'popular resistance'
Wisconsin city's ordinance targets snowball throwers
Agency Probing Doctor Complaints Has Only Nine Investigators–Second-Worst In United States
Fresnillo Zacatecas: 5 Unarmed Municipal Policemen Ambushed and Murdered
What you need to know about the trojan virus planted in Spanish banking apps
WATCH: Spain's 'first' narco-sub revealed to contain €100 million cargo of cocaine
75-foot wave recorded off California during last month's 'bomb cyclone'
Political donors Ahmad Khawaja and George Nader charged with making illegal contributions to 2016…
3 Arrested Tied to the Ambush of the LeBarón Family
Mexico’s Former Top Security Official Indicted on US Drug Charges
The eight least touristy cities in Spain (and why you should visit them)
Everything you need to know about Spain's December 'puente'
Kansas considers ‘greener’ new way to bury its dead
Pentagon considers sending up to 14,000 more U.S. troops to Middle East
Puerto Rico (The United States of America): FEMA and COR3 Obligate Nearly $18.5 million for Recovery Work…
Why wine lovers should make the Spanish city of Teruel their next destination
What if China Replaced U.S. Hegemony in the Middle East?
AOC rakes in $1.42M in third quarter, topping both Pelosi and Schiff: Report
What I am most thankful for....and you?
Mar Menor: How nutrients have poisoned Spain's largest saltwater lagoon
American Samoa declares measles outbreak, closes schools, United States News & Top Stories - The…
Snapchat launches 'Swipe Up to Call' feature exclusively for Middle East users