Artist and photographer William Arnold (pictured below) has been working to save phone boxes since 2022. It all began on the Isle of Lewis in Scotland, when the 47-year-old wanted to make a phone call. With his cellphone battery almost dead, he came across a phone box, but when he picked up the receiver the line was dead. That sparked an interest in preserving phone boxes in more rural communities. A phone box in Einacleit appealed to him because it’s believed to be the last remaining connected double-door telephone kiosk in the UK. That’s when he discovered that Ofcom — the UK version of the FCC — requires a minimum of 52 calls to be made from a phone box each year in order for it to remain operational. That’s when Arnold decided he would make the 1700-mile round trip to visit the rare phone box. He arrived with £36 ($48) worth of coins and managed to make his 52 calls to 52 different people. “It wasn’t just 20-second phone calls,” said Arnold. “Some people phoned me back, so I had a few longer conversations.” He said it took him just under two hours, with 45mph winds battering the door of the phone box. A spokesperson for British Telecom confirmed that about 9,000 public phone boxes remain operational in the UK, down from about 20,000 two years ago. He went on to explain that maintaining and operating a large group of phone boxes costs millions of pounds each year, an obstacle that prevents more investment in full fiber broadband and mobile networks, which customers demand. For now, Arnold hopes he can persuade local people to make the 52 calls required to keep the phone box in service themselves.
