Last public telephone will be dismantled

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By: Laura Forster

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Last public phone will be disconnected

The last hour of the public telephone column at the S-Bahn station in Steinebach has struck. "Telekom wants to have the public telephone dismantled," said Wörthsee Mayor Christel Muggenthal at the most recent municipal council meeting. "It's a shame, especially for the older citizens in town."

Steinebach - Due to a change in the law that has been in effect since January 1, 2021, basic service in the area of public telephone booths is no longer mandatory. The telecommunications company is now making use of this for the telephone booth at the train station. “Keeping a phone booth costs money, such as electricity, site rental and maintenance. If sales are out of proportion to usage over a longer period of time, we dismantle the telephone booths,” writes Deutsche Telekom when asked by Starnberger Merkur. The company was unable to say how often the telephone pillar had been used in the recent past – however, usage across Germany has fallen sharply in recent years.

"I haven't seen anyone on the phone there for a long time, most people have cell phones," said Mayor Christel Muggenthal. "However, if the battery is empty and an S-Bahn breaks down or you want to be picked up from the station, such a public telephone box is practical." Provided, of course, that it works. In any case, the device at the train station is currently unusable - hooligans have destroyed the handset so much that there is hardly anything left of it. "It is questionable whether the phone will be repaired again," said Wörthsee's mayor.

The telecommunications company still operates almost 14,000 telephone booths in Germany, the one at the train station in Steinebach is the last of its kind in the municipality of Wörthsee. "There used to be another issue when it came to senior-friendly housing," Muggenthal recalled. "But it's been gone for several years."

Neither Telekom nor the municipality can say exactly when the telephone pillar at the train station in Steinebach will be dismantled. “These dismantling measures are outsourced to external companies. They have their own plans and then only report to us when they are completed," the telecommunications company said.