Telstra in court battle over redesigned public phone booths

Essential public infrastructure or “Trojan Horses” for lucrative advertising? Telstra will battle it out in the Federal Court with two of Australia’s biggest councils who are desperate to stop the Telco from rolling out redesigned phone booths.

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Gone is the iconic orange-top with Telstra unveiling the first major redesign of their public phone booths in almost 40 years.

But two of Australia’s biggest councils will challenge the Telco in the Federal Court arguing the booths are nothing more than a “Trojan Horse” for lucrative advertising.

The court case initiated by Telstra against Melbourne City Council and then joined by the City of Sydney Council will have huge ramifications for local Sydney councils that are already fighting Telstra’s plans for the booths.

Telstra is not required to obtain council planning approval to install telecommunications infrastructure if it meets the criteria for a “low-impact facility”.

But councils argue the new booths — at 2.7m high and 1.2m wide — are significantly bigger than previous versions.

Telstra will battle it out in the Federal Court over its right to install the newly designed — and much bigger — public phone booths. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

The Federal Court will be asked over a five-day trial to rule what constitutes a “low impact facility” under the Telecommunications Act — an Act which Sydney City Council says Telstra is “exploiting”.

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Canterbury-Bankstown, Canada Bay, Bayside and Georges River councils are considering proposals, while Cumberland Council is being hit with complaints after a unit was installed 1.8m from the entrance of Bickle’s Pharmacy Merrylands.

“The irony is the handset on the new booth is the same as the old one — there has been no upgrade,” Cumberland councillor Glenn Elmore said.

“The new booth obstructs access for vision impaired and people with mobility issues.

“Pharmacy customers want Telstra to move the phone booth to a location which doesn’t block the footpath.”

North Sydney, Parramatta and the City of Sydney councils have all knocked back proposals by the company to install new or upgrade existing phone booths.

Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore. Picture: Richard Dobson

Cumberland Councillor Glenn Elmore. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore said Telstra has removed payphones from other areas across the country, “publicly citing a lack of use”.

“Installing new payphones in the CBD is not about providing utility, it is a trojan horse for advertising,” Ms Moore told The Sunday Telegraph.

The number of payphones in Australia has halved in the past decade.

But in 2017, French, global outdoor advertising behemoth JCDecaux signed a deal with Telstra, called Adbooth, to revamp 1860 payphones with digital screens, Wi-Fi access, mobile phone chargers and support for people with a disability.

North Sydney Mayor Jilly Gibson. Picture: Tim Pascoe

The Telstra payphones have undergone their first major redesign in 36 years.

The City of Melbourne believes each electronic billboard could earn $8000 in revenue a week.

North Sydney mayor Jilly Gibson said the company “is effectively facilitating a third party commercial advertiser, JCDecaux, to sell advertising space on public land”.

But Telstra, a publicly-listed company, is not backing down.

“A number of councils have questioned whether the size and design of the upgraded payphones means they are still low impact,” a spokesman said.

“We are committed to working with all councils to address any issues and are committed to installing all payphones correctly.

“With 13 million calls made from over 15,000 payphones nationally each year, including 200,000 calls to emergency services including triple-0 and Lifeline, Telstra is committed to ensuring the public has access to payphones in NSW.”

Originally published as Telstra in court battle over redesigned public phone booths