Commown and Telecoop Collaborate to Bring Back Telephone Boxes in Strasbourg

And if phone booths were blooming again in the streets of Strasbourg? The Commown cooperative wants to reopen a very first telephone booth in Strasbourg, in partnership with Telecoopa cooperative telephone operator.

The company born and based in Strasbourg has set itself the objective of limiting the impact of digital technology in our lives and on the environment. She rents responsible smartphones to more than 5,000 customers in France. and ensures their maintenance for a monthly subscription (23.30 euros).

With the return of telephone booths, it hopes to take a new step towards the sharing of devices. But there is no question of reproducing vintage cabins. Commown wants connected phones that are educational and above all supportive.

“The idea is to offer them new uses. For example, booths installed in front of schools so that parents can postpone as far as possible the deadline for equipping children with smartphones. another use could be to fight against precariousness, so that people can call their loved ones free of charge” explains Adrien Montagut, co-founder of Commown.

But the goal is also to question the relationship with digital technology. And why not show that we can disconnect, a little, from the smartphone and the screens. “We spend more and more time in front of our smartphone screen, which cuts us off from the social interactions we can have. And the cabin is a way of still having the ability to communicate, but of putting the screens at a distance.” describes Marion Graeffly, co-founder of TéléCoop.

In case of disaster

And then there is the usefulness of the cabins, connected to the copper telephone network in the event of a climatic disaster. “If we have a power cut in a city, we are no longer able to call for help. Since 4G antennas need electricity. At the time, with landlines via the copper network, regardless of a power outage, you could still call the fire brigade. Proposing the return of a telephone box also means questioning the resilience that it could offer at the time.” he continues.

The Commown cooperative will now design the cabins. She has already started initial discussions with Strasbourg town hall. Commown and Télécoop hope to open their first Strasbourg telephone box by 2025. A campaign to support this project is launched on the Commown company website.

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