Friday, Sep 30, 2011
Gulf News
Al Ain Modern portable devices have pushed public telephone booths aside rendering them virtually abandoned and useless across the UAE.
Many of these booths are now damaged or have become inoperable. A number of booths have been removed by the service provider and in some cases, even stolen by some antisocial elements. As a result of this, empty phone booths can easily be witnessed on the streets of Al Ain.
The popularity of mobile phones, internet chatting, calling cards, and other computer-assisted facilities have ushered in a new culture in communications in which nobody wants to use booths which have little privacy to make calls to make calls.
“Fast, secure, and convenient communication with others is indispensable in today’s world, but why to waste time by standing at a place for it,” said Walid Hesham, a Lebanese expatriate. People can now make calls while they are on the move using mobile phones, he said.
Payphones were great in the old days when mobile service was either unavailable or costly. He remembered using public phones to call his family back home, but it was in 1995. “I got my first mobile soon after and I never entered a telephone booth ever since,” said Hisham.
Talking on the move has already cost dearly. It is illegal to use mobile phones when driving. The habit is dangerous and could end in a disaster for motorists. The recent tragic death of the star UAE footballer Theyab Awana, who rammed his car into a lorry, was reportedly caused by SMS messaging that took his attention away from the road.
Zahoor Ahmad, a Pakistani businessman, said the payphone service is redundant and completely overtaken by latest technologies. “I have not used a payphone for the last 10 years as my mobile phone is readily available always,” he said. The availability of cheap internet chatting and other methods of also played a big role in driving away the users from the payphones.
“I am a businessman and always remain in touch with my customers and suppliers, but for this, I never felt a need to go to a public phone booth,” he said, adding that the payphone service should now be taken out by etisalat.
Gulf News spoke to a number of people in Al Ain, but most of them could not remember when they last used a pay phone. Sunjeev Gupta, an Indian expatriate, said cheap mobile rates and the ease of use makes people keep away from payphones.
Al Ain The UAE is listed among the countries with the highest telephone density in the world. Mobile phone service (analogue) was introduced by etisalat in the early 1980s and GSM service in 1994. It was not popular until 1996 when a big reduction in call charges thwarted the use of pay phones and fixed line phones.
By September 2001, etisalat had 1.7 million mobile phone subscribers which translates to a penetration level of 55 per cent. The emergence of Du in 2006 further increased the number of mobile users.
By Aftab Kazmi?Bureau Chief
Gulf News 2011. All rights reserved.
