BT puts classic 'Jubilee' phone boxes up for sale

BT has begun selling off its vintage 'Jubilee' or 'K6' phone boxes, as the age of the mobile phone sees usage of the design icons plummet.

Apart from selling the phone boxes, BT also lets local communities 'adopt' them for new purposes Photo credit: BT

"Now you can buy a 20th-century design icon that's famous around the world for your home or garden or you could even buy one as a gift for the person you know who has everything," BT Payphones chief Katherine Ainley said in a statement.

This is the first time in over 25 years that BT has sold off surplus phone boxes. According to the company, payphone calls have fallen by 80 percent in the last five years alone, and 60 percent of the phone boxes lose money.

In recent years, the company has launched several schemes to reuse the boxes, ranging from advertising deals to Wi-Fi hotspot rollouts. An 'Adopt a Kiosk' programme has also seen communities buy their local boxes for a nominal £1 fee, to turn them into defibrillator stations, information centres and even small grocery stores.

The 76-year-old K6 design originated with architect Giles Gilbert Scott, who created it for King George V's silver jubilee in 1936. Produced up until 1968, almost 70,000 were manufactured for deployment across the country.

According to BT's figures, there are still 11,000 of the boxes in the UK — although including other designs, there are still 51,500 phone boxes in total.

Those who want to pick one up can do so by visiting X2 Connect's website, although they should note that the starting price of £1,950 excludes both VAT and delivery.