Good bye pay phones

The idea now seems so quaint

[weeks]

Pay phones in the U.S. have declined across the industry from about 2.6 million phones in 1998 to an estimated one million phones today. AT&T said to today they are getting out of the biz.

I remember when they were a big part of my life.

[jbinbpt]

My cell broke and I had to use one at a highway rest area last week. Yuck.

[jsinger]

I remember 5-10 years ago when I used to see ads selling pay telephone locations as "lifetime" investments. Ads were often directed to the elderly.

When phone companies are unloading, you don't want to be buying.

[Dabrowski]

I've used them in the US, when I was on holiday there getting a charge card was a cheap way of staying in touch with the peasants. Much cheaper than using my mobile.

But would I even consider the idea of putting actual real money in one here in the UK? Of course not.

[LifeinAsia]

I can understand that they are unprofitable for the most part, especially with people using calling cards. The major uses I see for them these days are:
1) immigrants calling home
2) drug (or other illegal) deals
3) for areas without cell coverage or as a backup when ones cell phone battery dies

I may use a pay phone maybe 2-3 times a year. I rarely take a cell phone when I bicycle. So when I'm going to be back a lot later than I expected, I'll use one to call my wife and let her know so she doesn't worry.

[jsinger]

1) immigrants calling home

Yes, they are a gold mine along the Mexican border.

Long Distance calls (often to Mexico) are usually routed through some tiny, sleazy phone company with astronomical rates.

Sometimes the LD carrier was illegally and surreptitiously changed (practice known as Slamming) without the knowledge of the owner of the pay phone.

Remember Slamming? Jeesh, that was an awful period about 8 years ago! Happened to some of our business lines. Used to run a check (by dialing "00") every few months to assure our LD was done by our real phone company.

[wheel]

When I was growing up the phone was in the kitchen. It was black, had a rotary dial, and the handset was connected physically to the base unit with a 6 foot cord.

And we liked it that way. :)

[weeks]

Life in Asia mentioned phone credit cards. Uh oh. I have a pre-paid "credit card" in my wallet that is about 7 years old. It still has about a thousand minutes on it.

[LifeinAsia]

I have a pre-paid "credit card" in my wallet that is about 7 years old. It still has about a thousand minutes on it.

You might not- some of those hove expiration dates, or the underlying comkpanies may have "expired."

[draggar]

They better keep them here in south Florida, whenever a hurricane goes though and we have no power there is a huge line at each pay phone.

I guess none of them thought of buying a $10 corded phone (since the phone lines work)?

[rocknbil]

Part of the reason they're losing so much money is the scarcity of even **finding** a pay phone these days. In our small town there are only three to five visible ones outdoors.

[Dabrowski]

connected physically to the base unit with a 6 foot cord.

I never understood that. In the UK we always managed with a 12" coil. Did your phones make a funny smell so you couldn't stand near them?

[weeks]

I have a pre-paid "credit card" in my wallet that is about 7 years old. It still has about a thousand minutes on it.

You might not- some of those hove expiration dates, or the underlying comkpanies may have "expired."

No, Life, it a "never expire" phone credit card. Maybe I should post the number on the internet where someone will use it.

[weeks]

In the UK we always managed with a 12" coil. Did your phones make a funny smell so you couldn't stand near them?

I don't recall the phones smelling in the southern US. What was funny was, in the 1950s, was the phone was in the hallway in the middle of the house on a little table. You were considered stylish if you had a thoughtful little chair for a person to use. If you were REALLY cool, there was a little notepad and pencil on the little table. The phone book, of course was on a lower shelf on the little table.

When the ads for "extension phones" started, they did not suggest putting them on a real desk, but instead in the bedroom. "You're never alone with a bedside phone." (Sounds creepy these days. Never alone....)

[HelenDev]

What was funny was, in the 1950s, was the phone was in the hallway in the middle of the house on a little table. You were considered stylish if you had a thoughtful little chair for a person to use. If you were REALLY cool, there was a little notepad and pencil on the little table. The phone book, of course was on a lower shelf on the little table.

You just described our house in the mid-80s! It was strange that the phone was generally located in the coldest most uncomfortable room in the house. It seemed to take decades before people realised that next to the sofa is a more practical place for a phone to be located.

[sem4u]

My parents still have their phone in the hallway by the door on a little table :) lol

[wheel]

The Amish/Mennonites in this area I believe still aren't allowed to have phones in the house (horse and buggy folks). They do however had two things they use. Some set up a seperate outbuilding near the barn with a phone. If you need to call them, you set up a time when they'll be in the outbuilding. Apparently also cell phones are OK for some reason. It's a bit disconcerting to see a horse and buggy going down the side of the rode with the driver holding a cell phone to his ear :).

[weeks]

My parents still have their phone in the hallway by the door on a little table :) lol

Yeah, my in-laws did until the year 2000. No chair, no notepad. Phone and table. No answering machine. And I had to bend over a bit or pick up the phone.