BT is looking to install 'Street Hubs' in High Wycombe under plans submitted to Buckinghamshire Council.
The plans will see the removal of the existing BT payphones, with the company aiming to improve local streets in urban areas.
Plans have been submitted to install BT Street Hubs on Desborough Road, Arch Way, White Hart Street and Frogmoor.
A planning statement says the removal of the existing payphones will “declutter and significantly improve the overall streetscene in its appearance and amenity values”.
Street hubs are powered by 100 per cent renewable carbon-free energy and are free to use.
Their services include phone calls, Wi-Fi, rapid device charging, and touch-screen tablets providing access to local information.
The screens will display content at 10-second intervals, including commercial content that funds the service, as well as a wide range of local community and council content.
Locals and visitors will get a faster, more reliable connection for calls and internet access with the 75-inch screen models.
Street Hubs are free to use and will be monitored 24/7 and are designed to be a free-standing structure featuring a fully accessible tablet interface and digital HD display screens on two sides.
The hubs also have sensors that can count pedestrian, cyclist and vehicle movements as well as monitor air, sound and light.
This free information has its own dashboard and will help the planning system actively manage patterns of growth in support of national air quality and the delivery of the council’s own green agenda.
Overall street hub dimensions are 35cm deep and 123.6cm wide, with a height of 298cm to maximise the Wi-Fi range.
A narrow base limits the footprint while ensuring access to wheelchair users.
Street hubs are upgraded models of the InLink units that can currently be seen across the UK.
For decades, InLink kiosks were developed and deployed to replace traditional payphones.
After the company went into administration in 2019, BT stepped in to design the newer model and upgraded model of the service.
A planning statement reads: “BT Street Hubs have the potential to significantly enhance the provision of local community communications facilities and services.
“It is precisely the type of high-speed digital infrastructure that the Government is seeking to support as part of the presumption in favour of sustainable development.
“It will deliver social, economic, and environmental benefits by providing a suite of essential urban tools/services, including free ultrafast Wi-Fi to residents, businesses and visitors in this area.
“Overall BT Street Hubs will help future proof the high street making them smarter, safer, and more sustainable.”
Buckinghamshire Council will now make a decision on the application submitted to them with the neighbour consultation expiry date on November 4.
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