Payphones Going, Going, Nearly Gone

Pay phones are fading into the sunset, with convenience stores one of their last remaining holding places.

February 19, 2013

SEATTLE - While cell phones have become a staple for most American adults (and their teenage kids), the number of pay phones has fallen sharply, writes the Seattle Times.

While there were 2 million pay phones in the United States in 1998, today there are roughly 243,000, according to the Federal Communications Commissions. Miniscule demand has led to shrinking profits, leading many major phone companies to leave the pay-phone business. Last June, Verizon sold its last batch of pay phones, which were in New York City. "It just wasn??t germane to our business strategy," said Verizon spokesperson Bob Elek.

Still others remain, mostly at convenience stores, truck stops and hotels. "They are still a pretty critical piece of the infrastructure, especially for the poor in American society," said Randy Nichols, president of the American Public Communications Council.

Nichols maintains that pay phones are a critical part of the communications infrastructure for the country," adding they can operate during natural disasters as long as the local telephone company switch is above water.

Pay phones today are mostly in the hands of small businesses that struggle to cover connection charges that average $25 to $30 each month.

"Our industry has gone to hell in a hand basket," said James Kelly III, whose Atlanta-based firm KELLEE Communications operates pay phones at several airports. KELLEE has removed thousands of its pay phones across the country while removing them entirely from more than 15 airports.

Others are to resuscitate pay phones: A program in New York is reinventing them as Wi-Fi hot spots, and the Denver International Airport launched free landline phones last year, supported by ads on LCD screens.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement