Ireland

Speaking clock silenced forever by Eir due to declining call volume

Decades-old service used to attract up to three million calls a year to 1191 number

Kayle Crosson
Mon Aug 27 2018 - 18:23

Its patter was limited, its reliability unquestioned, but now the Speaking Clock has been silenced forever.

After nearly five decades of the service relaying the current time to callers who dialled 1191, telecom provider Eir stopped it on Monday.

During its peak, the service attracted close to three million calls annually, according to a company spokeswoman.

“Technology has moved on and the proliferation of mobile phones and gadgets has caused a steady, predictable decline in the numbers of people using the service,” the spokeswoman said.

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“Although the 1191 number still receives calls daily, it’s a very small number that does not justify maintaining the system.”

About six months ago, Eir began to let users know, via the service itself, that the Speaking Clock would terminate on August 27th.

*This article was amended on August 28th as the original version incorrectly stated the number of the Speaking Clock as 1911

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