Removal of telephone call boxes

Good morning,

I have been continuing to discuss the issues of rural telephone services, broadband and mobile phone signal issues with BT/EE, and some interesting things have come to light that I wanted to share with you.

 

As you know, many Public Call Boxes (PCBs) have been removed from many rural villages of Dartmoor. This is adding to the justified concerns of many residents who are worried about the new ‘Digital Voice’ telephone system that BT / EE are rolling out.

 

As a recap, ‘Digital Voice’ is a replacement to the landline phone service, and will only work using broadband. This means that in a power cut situation, the landline will not work – and in many areas with little or no mobile signal, this would cut off potentially entire villages. This is very serious as it could make emergency calls unavailable.

 

I have learned that Ofcom set out some very strict rules about the removal of PCB’s here Protecting essential phone boxes - Ofcom that actually means that potentially some phone boxes have been removed against Ofcom’s ruling. This could mean that if this is proven to be the case, BT would have to reinstate them. The first step is to make a complaint to Ofcom, if you believe that your phone box was removed against the ruling. Please first carefully check the criteria on the Ofcom site as per the link. Please do share this information, as although I am sure it’s not as straightforward as it sounds, it may help in the long run.

 

I have had several meetings with BT / EE over the last few years, and generally – although they are extremely polite and seem to want to help, it feels as if they don’t really understand the issues faced by very rural villages. I usually speak with a senior member of their Southwest Team who is in an office in the middle of London, so they are rather ‘disconnected’ (pun intended) from rural life.

 

The other important information I found is regarding the Digital Voice switchover. Although they do not publicise it widely, there are criteria for getting the ‘Digital Voice back-up battery’ (normal cost £105) for free. They publicise it as ‘Additional Needs’, which as you would expect covers people over the age of 75, and people with certain disabilities, Telecare pendants etc. However, ‘additional needs’ also means ‘landline dependent’, so if you are in an area with little or no mobile signal, you can qualify as that. This means that if you are pre-registered with BT, you can get the battery back-up and have an engineer come to install it all for you for free. To register, you must call 0330 1234 150 - the webpage is this one Here For You | Help for customers with an impairment | BT Help

If you are a BT phone customer and have access to the ‘Openreach Portal’, apparently you can register there too, but I have not actually seen this site myself.

 

Sorry there is a lot to read – but just to recap:

For communities that have wrongfully had a Public Call Box removed – complain to Ofcom.

For registering as ‘Landline dependent’ call 0330 1234 150.

 

I hope this is helpful, and I assure you of my constant efforts with telephone and broadband companies!

 

Kindest regards,

David

   

David Boocock

Projects Officer, Conservation and Communities

Dartmoor National Park Authority

30th May 2025