{"id":299674,"date":"2024-04-10T14:24:21","date_gmt":"2024-04-10T18:24:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/?p=299674"},"modified":"2024-04-10T14:24:21","modified_gmt":"2024-04-10T18:24:21","slug":"public-telephones-dinosaurs-in-the-streets-of-havana","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/cuba\/public-telephones-dinosaurs-in-the-streets-of-havana\/","title":{"rendered":"Public telephones, dinosaurs in the streets of Havana"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the 21st century, the era of smartphones \u2014 useful in our daily lives, but at the same time making us increasingly useless and dependent \u2014 old payphones remain a common presence on the streets of Havana.<\/span><\/p>\n

Despite the proliferation of their younger relatives, smartphones, the old coin-operated payphones, or the newer ones that work with cards, they are still there, clinging to poles and unpainted walls.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Street art and an old telephone. Good duo. A common image a few years ago, but quite unusual today. Photo: Alejandro Ernesto.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Of course, anyone who wants to communicate through one of them, whether out of necessity or curiosity, will have to make many attempts; very few of them work. They all look old, rusty and threadbare. Dying and silent.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Mutilated and disused, many of Havana\u2019s public telephones remain today. A common image a few years ago, but quite unusual today. Photo: Alejandro Ernesto.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Most of them have been mutilated, victims of vandalism and apathy and are just ugly shells without cables, without keys or without a headset. Useless devices that are still there, unscathed, contributing to the retro and decadent vibe of a city in many ways anchored to the 20th century.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Three old colleagues. Will they work? A common image a few years ago, but quite unusual today. Photo: Alejandro Ernesto.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In 2022 there were about 57,000 public telephones installed in the country, according to a <\/span>report<\/a>\u00a0from the IPS agency, which adds that mobile telephone lines had registered an increase of more than half a million between 2021 and 2022.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
The humblest are the majority users of public telephony. A common image a few years ago, but quite unusual today. Photo: Alejandro Ernesto.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Officially the telephone was patented in 1876 by Alexander Graham Bell, a Scot living in the United States. But other sources suggest that the true inventor of the device was Antonio Meucci, an Italian living in Havana who, after testing several prototypes, built the \u201cteletrophone\u201d in 1854, long before Graham Bell registered his in the U.S. patent office.<\/span><\/p>\n

Wherever the telephone was invented, colonial Havana was not far behind and had its first device of this type in 1877, and already in 1885 the city had an incipient public telephone service.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
The telephones near the ETECSA offices are the best preserved and mostly functional. A common image a few years ago, but quite unusual today. Photo: Alejandro Ernesto.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Currently, public telephones are located near areas of social interest, such as hospitals, polyclinics, airports and train and bus terminals, schools, banks or shopping centers. In my childhood, when having a landline at home was a little less than a luxury and cell phones were not even seen in the movies, there was a \u201cpublic\u201d one almost on every block. And they worked.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Rusty, old and battered, payphones can still be useful to many people. A common image a few years ago, but quite unusual today. Photo: Alejandro Ernesto.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

With the increase in cell phones, much later, public telephones have practically disappeared in most of the world, even booths as famous as the red ones in London have been removed and only a few remain for tourist purposes. Ours, as they are, add to that vintage appeal that foreigners who visit us look for.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Everyday image of a city at times anchored in the 20th century. A common image a few years ago, but quite unusual today. Photo: Alejandro Ernesto.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In Cuba, especially in Havana, there are still many of them and the truth is that, broken or working, people are looking for them less and less. I\u2019ve been walking around Havana for days, photographing those old dinosaurs with keys and I\u2019ve barely seen two people use them.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Silent witness of the day-to-day life of Havana residents. A common image a few years ago, but quite unusual today. Photo: Alejandro Ernesto.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Cellular telephony, even though it is the most used by Cubans, is almost inaccessible for many people; however, it is the most used by Cubans. The public telephones that still work in Havana and the rest of the island are the salvation of the lowest-income people, who by necessity cling to these devices and pray to find one with a dial tone.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With the increase in cell phones, these devices have practically disappeared in most of the world. The Cuban capital preserves some.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3761,"featured_media":299677,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13902],"tags":[8863,19256],"ppma_author":[34081],"class_list":["post-299674","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cuba","tag-cuban-society","tag-featured"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nPublic telephones, dinosaurs in the streets of Havana | OnCubaNews English<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"With the increase in cell phones, these devices have practically disappeared in most of the world. 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