The UK's first phone boxes started popping up in 1921, with the iconic red design appearing five years later. At their peak in 1992, BT operated 92,000 of them.

英国首批公用电话亭从1921年开始出现，标志性的红色设计在五年后才面世。在1992年的鼎盛时期，由英国电信集团运营的电话亭有9万2千座。

But as mobiles became part of everyday life, many phone kiosks were removed or re-used for services like community libraries and pop-up coffee shops. There are now just 21,000 payphones left.

但随着手机成为日常生活的一部分，很多电话亭被相继拆除或改造成社区图书馆和快闪咖啡馆等用途。现在只剩下2万1千台公用电话了。

Ofcom wants to protect 5,000 phone boxes, particularly in poor mobile coverage1 areas. It says they still provide a valuable emergency function, with 150,000 999 calls made from phone boxes last year.

英国通信管理局希望保护5000座电话亭，特别是在移动信号覆盖率低的地区。该机构表示，这些电话亭仍提供宝贵的紧急求救功能，去年通过公用电话亭拨打的英国999紧急求救电话就有15万通。

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