The End of Pay Phones
This news from Reuters today:
AT&T plans to end its dwindling pay phone business by the end of 2008, as more consumers use mobile phones.The move affects AT&T pay phones in the company’s previous 13-state service area. BellSouth has already exited the pay phone business in its 9-state area.
Pay phones in the United States have declined across the industry from about 2.6 million phones in 1998 to an estimated 1 million phones today.
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I have to think that pay phones will always be available in some places: airports and hotels mainly.
Sad! I’d planned to make a pilgrimage to the Mojave Phone Booth in ~’99 or ‘00 (I’d already been to Carhenge and the Mike the Headless Chicken Festival; it seemed like the thing to do next) but by the time I got around to getting the trip together in earnest, the phone had been removed. And now they’ll all be going.
Actually, except for in an airport, I can’t remember a time I actually used a phone booth, or needed to.
Cell phones can be useless for long stretches on cross-country drives. Until that changes, it seems there will always be a need for pay phones in certain places. I hope they won’t be too hasty or aggressive in eliminating them.
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