At the end of this year, O2 will shut down all public payphones, except those in the smaller municipalities. Out of the 3900 telephone booths currently in operation, 1150 remain in municipalities with up to 200 more inhabitants next year. It was confirmed by O2 spokeswoman Lucie Jungmannová this past Wednesday.

The reason for the interference is due to little or no calls from the booths; everyone has mobiles. “In recent years, coverage of the 4G mobile network, which is available in the Czech Republic territory at 96.9 percent, has risen significantly, making it one of the best in Europe. Most people use a mobile phone or a fixed-line, and phone boxes are gradually losing their meaning,” Lucie said, with some people calling less than once a month.

The operator will continue to operate the machines in locations where it is required by the Czech Telecommunication Office as part of the so-called universal service. Every year, the operator sets parameters for the size of the municipality, in which at least one booth will be placed. Another reason for the obligation to place a booth is a weak mobile signal. Loss of the municipality’s operation is then paid by the state to the operator. The subsidy is around 9000 CZK per machine per year.

In addition to the decreasing number of calls, the high demand for maintenance and the fight against vandalism is another reason for interference. Booths are the target of vandals rather than a place to call. Call revenues are thus far from covering maintenance and operating costs.

Interrupted payphones will be operational until December 31. Afterward, the supplier company gradually dismantles the instruments and boxes and ensures its ecological disposal. O2 also cooperates with the Bookstores project, where unused booths become small public libraries. This project was created with the help of the corporate O2 Foundation.

O2 operated most of the payphones at the turn of the century when over 30,000 booths were in operation. Since then, their numbers have been decreasing due to declining usage, an effect from the advent of mobile technology.

The ceremonial launch of three days of harvesting will start on Friday morning at the largest Czech fish pond Rožmberk, near Třeboň in South Bohemia.

The town is the country’s most famous centre for the production of carp, which is traditionally eaten by Czechs for Christmas dinner. This volume of fish expected this year is regarded as average.

Fishing in the so-called South Bohemia sea, as the Rožmberk Pond is sometimes nicknamed, is a huge fishing and social event not only for fishermen but also for the thousands of visitors, who come here annually. This year’s pond fishing will start at 7:00 am with the first tug of the rod, on all three days.

“The year was not the best. Water scarcity will affect the size of the fish. Dehydrated areas are overgrown with reeds, and we have increased costs for the maintenance of ponds. Producers raised grain prices due to drought. All this led to an increase in the cost of growing fish,” Said Josef Malecha, Chairman of the Třebon Fishing Industry.

Fishing is followed by sorting, weighing and marinating of the fish. You can look forward to a rich, gastronomic program, including the sale of live fish.

The Czech Republic produces 20.000 tons of fish every year: carp accounts for 88% of total production.

Once caught and chosen as keepers, the fish would be kept alive until 3-4 days before Dec. 24, when they would be sold at markets and shops all over the country and beyond for Christmas festivities.

Ever since the medieval ages, carp have been the obvious choice for Christmas dinners. Christmas carp are not killed but caught alive. In December all over the country, little pools filled with carp are put up on town squares and markets. People patiently queue as temperature drop below 0° to pick their carp. Fishmongers, dramatically smeared in blood and guts, club dead and clean most fish on the spot but they never do so without asking the crucial question: dead or alive?