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AT&T To Decommission Pay Phones

Posted by Zonk on from the death-by-cell-phone dept.

oahazmatt writes "According to MarketWatch, AT&T said that its pay phones will be phased out over the next year. A company spokeswoman declined to say how much revenue its pay-phone business generated, but the number is small and declining. 'The first public pay-telephone station was set up in 1878, just two years after Alexander Graham Bell invented the talking device. The first coin-operated pay phone was installed in Hartford, Conn., in 1889. For decades after the pay phone's invention, many Americans relied on them because of the expense and difficulty in obtaining reliable home service. Only after World War II did the telephone become a household necessity.'"

6 of 470 comments (clear)

  1. No longer required.. by in2mind · · Score: 4, Insightful

    ..Because there are cellphone everywhere? But if you find yourself without cellphone in a situation,would some stranger lend you his for a call you want to make?

    Oh its about profit...ok..

    --
    Wincopy
    1. Re:No longer required.. by Abcd1234 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      And what about those who either choose not to have a cellphone, or can't afford one? Not everyone is willing to dedicate themselves to multi-year plans, or spend a not-insignificant number of dollars on a handset so they can pay (exhorbitantly) as they go.

    2. Re:No longer required.. by LighterShadeOfBlack · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Oh its about profit...ok.. Well... yes, yes it is. AT&T are a business, profit is their general goal.

      Even if someone won't lend you a cellphone in case you run off with it, just go into a building and ask if you can use their landline. Most people are pretty reasonable. OK... some people are pretty reasonable. But even if you had to try two or three places it's hardly a big deal for this life-and-death call you just have to make, right?

      That is, unless you find yourself alone without a cellphone in the middle of nowhere. But then again there probably wouldn't be a pay phone there anyway.
      --
      Spelling mistakes, grammatical errors, and stupid comments are intentional.
  2. farewell, anonymity by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Oh look, a violent crime. Better go to the nearest payphone and report it so I don't get roped in to the case just 'cos I'm concerned about someone being beaten to a pulp.

    Oh, no payphone.

    1. Re:farewell, anonymity by vhold · · Score: 5, Insightful

      This was my first thought as well. Case in point: A friend of mine used a pay phone to report a car being broken into, and when they asked for his name he just said "Nope" and hung up. The cops arrived shortly thereafter and caught the thief in the act. He would not have made that call on his phone.

  3. That's how I switched by NetDanzr · · Score: 4, Insightful

    When I moved to Atlanta in summer of 2004, it was the lack of pay phones in Midtown that finally made me purchase a cell phone. Had there been easily accessible pay phones in the city, I would most likely still rely on them. I wonder whether we'll see a significant increase in cell phone subscription now, or whether there aren't enough crazy luddites like me left anymore.