New World Payphones are bringing the traditional UK phonebox into the 21st century with a high-tech makeover that include Internet access, says Amstrad. The traditional red UK phone box, known as the K2, had its 90-year anniversary recently but most of them are destined to disappear. The new phone box wiil include high-speed Wi-Fi connection provided by Virgin Media, touchscreen functions for local services and digital advertising screens.
For every new phone box built, New World Payphones will declutter the streets by removing older phone box models that have fallen into disrepair and plant an urban tree via a partnership with Trees for Cities. All production is carried out in Britain by Lord Sugar’s Amscreen company in Bolton and the design is inspired by the design ideas used by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott in creating his original K2 phone box which first arrived on London’s streets in 1926. The new boxes will also help improve the UK’s connectivity to the Internet in urban areas.
The revenue generated from the New World Payphones digital phone boxes will be used to carry out weekly maintenance, which would be more than four times as often as existing phone box maintenance.
