For decades, they were the place where nascent lovers enjoyed as long a conversation as their supply of coins would allow.

Late at night on a quiet street corner, UltraXtend wlan verstärker Bewertung the phone box was the friend of the misty-eyed, the desperate, and anyone who wanted to call home with good news. 

But with the advent of the mobile phone, the most quintessential of British objects has become something of an eccentricity. 

Many of those that do remain, such as the classic K2 model that stands near Parliament, act as photo opportunities for thousands of Britons and tourists every year. 

Now, operator BT is to transform 2,000 old payphones into digital hubs that will provide free calls and wifi, as well as device charging.

The move marks yet another attempt to revive the traditional phone box. Although many are now neglected and derelict, some have inventively been turned into miniature cafes and libraries. 

And around 3,000 have been designated as grade II-listed buildings, meaning they are saved for the future. 

The red phone box is quintisentially British. Above: Singer Tom Jones poses for a picture in a phone box at his home in Beverly Hills, California, in 1980

A man makes a phone call from a phone box that has been fortified with sand bags during the Second World War 

A BT phone box in the year 2000. Modern versions were far less pleasing on the eye than the originals