Public Phone Booths Decline in India: 45,000 Shut Down

New Delhi, Dec 4 (PTI) As many as 44,922 public telephone booths or PCOs have shut down in the last three years while around 17,000 such facilities are still operational across the country, Parliament was informed on Wednesday.

Minister of state for communications Pemmasani Chandra Sekhar in a written reply to Lok Sabha said that the decline in the number of PCOs (public call offices) is attributed to the widespread adoption of mobile technology, increased tele density, and the availability of affordable tariffs for mobile services.

"PCOs are being shut down over a period of time. It has been estimated that around 44,922 PCOs have been shut down in the last three years," the minister said.

According to the data shared by Sekhar, a total of 16,958 PCOs are still working. Of them 1,519 are in rural areas and 15,439 in urban areas as on June 30, 2024.

Maharashtra has the highest number of PCOs, with 4,314 in urban areas and 42 in rural areas still operational. It is followed by Tamil Nadu with 2,809 PCOs in urban areas and 305 in rural areas. Kerala has 1,529 such booths in urban areas and 557 in rural area. Telangana has 1,115 PCOs in urban areas and 37 in rural areas, and Gujarat has 1,174 PCOs in urban areas and 26 in rural areas.

Other states have less than 1,000 PCOs operational while several states have none of them, the minister said.