Public pay phones are a familiar sight on Taipei’s streets, but their numbers are dwindling. As smartphones became our primary communication tool, the metallic devices seen around most MRT stations and convenience stores are going out of fashion
Taiwan’s telecommunications giant Chunghwa Telecom tried to modernize the booths in 2016 to improve usage. Some phone booths were outfitted with free Wi-Fi and the option to pay by iPass, iCash, EasyCard or Taiwan Easy Go next to cash and credit cards.
Despite this effort, their numbers have fallen nationwide. Taiwan had an estimated number of 150,000 public pay phones across the island 20 years ago. This number reportedly plunged down to only around 40,000 units in 2018.
Chunghwa Telecom told The News Lens that Taipei's 5811 pay phones only generate an average of NT$240 per month per unit. Last year this would account to roughly US$555,000 out of Chunghwa Telecom's 2018 total revenue of US$7,040 billion. A drop in profitability and popularity means the future of the city’s pay phones is looking bleak.
We captured a number of pay phones in their gritty integrated context, among the nooks and crannies of Taipei's alleys and streets. Their tattered and worn down states perfectly reflect the state of this declining urban phenomena.
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TNL Editor: Daphne K. Lee (@thenewslensintl)
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