Belgacom to scrap 4,000 phone boxes

7 May 2004

BRUSSELS – Belgium’s state backed telephone operator Belgacom is to remove around 4,000 telephone boxes across the country, arguing that they have been made obsolete by the popularity of mobile phones.

According to Belgian newspaper ‘L’Echo’, the government has authorised Belgacom to scrap the 4,000 phone boxes because 75 percent of Belgians now own a mobile telephone.

If this rate of mobile phone ownership rises to 80 percent a further 2,000 public telephone boxes will face the axe, L’Echo added.

At present Belgium has a total of 14,000 telephone boxes but the number of calls placed in them has fallen by over 76 percent since 1998.

Belgacom says 86 percent of its telephone boxes are no longer profitable.

Subject: Belgian news