William Arnold, a 43-year-old artist and photographer, undertook a 1,700-mile round trip from Cornwall to the Isle of Lewis in Scotland to ensure a historic telephone box remained in service. His journey was motivated by Ofcom guidelines, which require a minimum of 52 calls annually for a payphone to stay operational.

Arnold's project aims to preserve these vital rural communication links. He described the effort as "slightly ridiculous and comedic but there is also a serious point about how we communicate with each other and how these phone boxes are often vital rural lifelines." The phone box in Einacleit is believed to be the last remaining connected double-door kiosk in the UK. It has been locally adapted to withstand the harsh weather conditions common on the Isle of Lewis.

Arnold's interest in preserving rural phone lines began in 2022 when he discovered a disused phone box on the Isle of Lewis. "We still have really old school technology that is starting to die out, but BT are lumbered with this legal obligation to keep it going, which I think is quite special," he noted.

To meet the requirement, Arnold made 52 calls to different individuals, using approximately £36 worth of coins. The process took nearly two hours amidst 45 mph winds and heavy rain, with water accumulating at the bottom of the kiosk. He contacted people who had contributed to his Crowdfunder for the project, as well as others to reach the target number of calls.

Arnold emphasized the importance of these phone boxes for public safety, especially in areas with limited mobile signal. He recalled a recent winter storm in Cornwall where 100 mph winds caused power and water outages for several days. During this time, some villages without mobile coverage relied on phone boxes as their sole means of contacting the outside world.

Despite Arnold's efforts, the future of many public payphones remains uncertain. Last year, BT reviewed 47 phone boxes in the Western Isles, with 42 marked for removal. Across the UK, approximately 9,000 public payphones are still operational, a significant decrease from about 20,000 two years ago. BT stated that maintaining the payphone estate costs millions annually, hindering investment in broadband and mobile networks.

Arnold advocates for keeping some phone boxes operational for public safety and has supported appeals to grant them listed status. For now, he hopes local residents will continue to make the necessary calls to keep the Einacleit phone box in service.