Fewer Batelco phones to get lifeline

Batelco, which planned to remove the unused pay phones in the kingdom, has now decided to save a minimum of 200 pay phones from removal.

Batelco had called for the customer feedback in January 2015 to take decisions on all the locations where the unused pay phones have to be removed and in which places they have to be left behind. However, the response from the customers was very poor, as the usage of pay phones has gone down to almost nil.

Pay phones, which marked the history of telecommunication in the kingdom, is nearing its extinction.

The telecommunication system in the country has grown and with the arrival of various service providers, there are many options for making a call—from voice calls to Internet and video calls.

With the rise of smartphones in the kingdom and inexpensive international calls, people using pay phones have gone down drastically.

The company now plans to remove pay phones after suggestions from the customers. Company has also marked the pay phones, which will be removed with stickers.

To the latest development, Batelco spokesman remarked: “There has been poor response from customers through the customer feedback. We have not started removing the pay phones yet. However, a minimum of 200 pay phones in various locations throughout the Kingdom will be saved from removal.”

Pay phones were largely used before by the expatriates to make international calls to their respective countries. Expatriates from various countries standing in long queues for making a call was a common sight those days.