AT&T to hang up its pay phones

AT&T -- or whatever company it is that's going by that name these days -- has decided to pull the plug on its pay phone business, over 100 years after the first coin-operated model was installed in Chicago. Currently, the telecom giant owns and operates public telephones in 13 states. With the number of pay phones having more than halved since 1998 -- due in large part to BellSouth's exit in 2001 -- AT&T clearly thinks that the sidewalk stalwart is at the end of its shiny metal rope, although it will continue to provide related services until the dial tones go silent at the end of 2008. While public reaction to the announcement has been mostly tepid so far, several groups have raised their voices in protest, most notably the Justice League of America, which calls the impending lack of changing stations "a national crisis."

[Sonic_13 @ Dec 3rd 2007 11:07AM]

How will one now escape from the Matrix?

[blade417 @ Dec 3rd 2007 11:11AM]

There will now be a software update for all cell phones that allow you jack in and jack out of the matrix on the go! Sure to satisfy all your jacking needs.

[Jagannath A @ Dec 3rd 2007 11:13AM]

simple by taking the red pill :P

[Rususeruru @ Dec 3rd 2007 11:26AM]

@blade:Well if Vivid ever gets their photo-to-ID [movie] service going then your mobile will definitely help you jack-off!
terrible.

[Jagannath A @ Dec 3rd 2007 11:27AM]

damn.... made a stupid comment :D

[Natedog @ Dec 3rd 2007 2:54PM]

"There will now be a software update for all cell phones that allow you jack in and jack out of the matrix on the go! Sure to satisfy all your jacking needs."

All cell phones except the iPhone...

[brad @ Dec 3rd 2007 11:09AM]

yes the justice league got it right...no more pay phones is a national crisis...no not the war in iraq, our failing social security, or lack of free health care...yes justice league, you have your minds set in the right direction...


FFS, who doesnt have a cell phone these days?

[Spyvie @ Dec 3rd 2007 11:11AM]

Zoom....

Did you hear that?

[Eddie @ Dec 3rd 2007 11:12AM]

You're kidding, right? I really don't think anyone should have to explain what the Justice League is, but apparently that joke went right over your head. Time to hit up Wikipedia in shame.

[RC @ Dec 3rd 2007 11:13AM]

"failing social security, or lack of free health care"

Right in the same sentence. Wow.

[Neon Jebus @ Dec 3rd 2007 11:15AM]

Well lots of people as I see someone on a pay phone at almost any gas station I go to in Indianapolis.

Probably the same folks that can't afford health care that you had on your list of things that Superman and his friends needed to help fix...

[tekdemon @ Dec 3rd 2007 11:16AM]

Wow...just...wow...
You uhh...need to develop a sense of humor there sir.

[NHAnimator @ Dec 3rd 2007 11:28AM]

Wonder Twin powers: Activate!

Form of a giant clue!

[rav97 @ Dec 3rd 2007 12:18PM]

Voooosh!!!

It's a bird! It's a plane! It's... a clue!

[Ellianth @ Dec 3rd 2007 12:19PM]

ROTFLMAO

Please, no more jokes about the guy. You guys are killing me.

@NHAnimator: That's my new favorite comment. If i knew you in person i'd totally give you cookies AND milk!

[murray @ Dec 3rd 2007 12:48PM]

LOL @NHAnimator

[D @ Dec 3rd 2007 1:35PM]

Hey Brad
Ain't nothin' free in this world, not even health care. 'Free' just means someone is paying for it some other way and I will be damned if I am paying for YOUR health care. I already gots 4 kids and a wife whose health care I AM paying for.

You want health care go ask your mommy and daddy to pay for it or go get a job and pay for it yourself like a real adult.

(any misspellings or grammitcal erros are intentional and used to illustrate a point or give flava to my brilliant observations)

[Kye Lewis @ Dec 7th 2007 5:09AM]

@D: That's a disturbing lack of compassion you have for fellow human beings there.

[Blu-Sam @ Dec 3rd 2007 11:18AM]

Payphone can be important for someone to hide their identify. Psst psst!

[DSeaver @ Dec 3rd 2007 11:21AM]

Obviously you don't watch enough Law and Order, the new fad is Pay as You Go phones.

[Anthony @ Dec 3rd 2007 11:47AM]

See you use a gift credit/debit card to buy a pay as you go phone, then you rent a car under an assumed name & *bam* you have yourself 50 episodes of Law & Order: Criminal Intent. Original (term used loosely) now on USA.

[Blu-Sam @ Dec 3rd 2007 11:51AM]

so, Phone Booth (film) don't count?

[MB @ Dec 3rd 2007 11:19AM]

These things must have been money losers for years. They were a real part of America when many homes did not have even one big, black rotary dial party-line phone. And they could be counted on as a source for last-minute dates (just select from among the phone numbers scratched onto the booth's walls).

R.I.P. phones.

[Goldaar @ Dec 3rd 2007 11:23AM]

But they can't fix things like failing social security and health care for all, if they can't change into their super hero costumes. att is Professor Ivo, I just know it!

[ssuk @ Dec 3rd 2007 11:23AM]

I saw that sneaky Simpson's reference...

[Chuckles McGee @ Dec 3rd 2007 11:36AM]

Maybe pay phones are dead, but perhaps people will pay to enter "silence booths"- acoustically insulated chambers with an outlet and antennas from major carriers to conduct their calls in private?

[rndmnme @ Dec 3rd 2007 12:12PM]

You mean you don'e carry around a "Cone of Silence"



Get Smart reference.

[Andrew @ Dec 3rd 2007 2:35PM]

If you *state* the reference, its not much of an allusion, now is it?

[Alan @ Dec 3rd 2007 11:45AM]

They are just working to phase out the phone booths so no one mistakes them for the suiced booths of the future.

[Justin @ Dec 3rd 2007 11:51AM]

That's too bad. I liked that they provided a selection between "fast and painless" and "slow and painful." I thought it was a very sanitary method...

[Mike Morris @ Dec 3rd 2007 11:55PM]

That's just what I was thinking.. Kudos!

[anthone @ Dec 3rd 2007 12:00PM]

me and a friend use to use payphones to call sex hotlines. oh the memories.

[Scooter @ Dec 3rd 2007 4:08PM]

where am I gonna piss after a big bender? Where am I gonna sleep?!

[Hmmm @ Dec 3rd 2007 12:02PM]

Pay phones are still relevant where you can't get cell service, like the subway.
Having the option of calling the police as you bleed to death from stab wounds is comforting.

[murray @ Dec 3rd 2007 12:51PM]

That actually applies anywhere, since the person who stabbed you probably took your phone too.

[Jeremy K. @ Dec 3rd 2007 12:04PM]

lol... At first I thought to myself, oh that's too bad I used a pay phone a few years ago and if it wasn't there I would be SOL... but then I remembered: that was almost 5 years ago, before I got a mobile phone. This sorta makes sense then. I guess the only reason for pay phones now is if your mobile runs out of battery life and you really need to call someone.

Goodbye pay phones...

[CB @ Dec 3rd 2007 12:07PM]

Pay phones are still a legal requirement in the UK, but they do have several other uses, wi-fi hotspots and touch screen internet access.
To be honest I think most survive in the UK cities because they have premium ATM's strapped on the back.

[Arthur Dent @ Dec 3rd 2007 12:10PM]

Pay phones are still useful for civic emergencies like area-wide blackouts and natural disasters where the cellular network could either get overloaded or lack of power could cause the whole network to shut down.

[Mugsy @ Dec 3rd 2007 1:12PM]

If if it were not for public phones, I would not have been able to get in touch with my wife on 9/11, to let her know that I was still alive. In fact we still insist on having a land line at home, just for emergencies.

If the phone companies don't provide them, I think the local/state/fed government may have too.

[Hax Or @ Dec 3rd 2007 12:22PM]

CELL PHONES?

HAHA... continue your stupid slide... we all love it.

Cell phones are so 1990s. Get with the times haha!

I never carry a cellphone. It's a hassle. Let's get rid of all the Landlines too, right retards?

[Tony @ Dec 3rd 2007 12:29PM]

Who's the real retard here?

[seoultrain @ Dec 3rd 2007 12:43PM]

man.. back in the day I used to use these to call home collect and say "mom, pick me up", then whoever's home would reject charges and come get me.

[billy bob thorton @ Dec 3rd 2007 2:22PM]

I did the same thing. you can also do that with cellphones found in thrift stores.

In fact there's the solution to the problem. just pass out flyers and make psa's that let people without phones know they can use any (almost) cell phone to make emergency calls without a plan.

[octoberasian @ Dec 3rd 2007 1:09PM]

Well, one, not everyone can afford cell phones and, two, not everyone can afford pay-as-you-go phones also. Payphones were more of a convenience, especially when there is an emergency-- flat tires, something on fire, robbery, etc.

I have not owned a cell phone in ten years. Regardless how much I do make, cell phone rates are expensive and costly. The companies have convoluted fees and hidden charges. You be getting x-amount of minutes for this and that for y-amount dollars per month, but when you see the bill it's not that exact amount.

Removing payphones is going to be a big mistake unless they can do a couple things:
- Reduce cell phone fees and make them less convoluted and deceptive
- Provide incentives to those that can't afford them

[Twitchy @ Dec 3rd 2007 4:56PM]

You forget that Payphones are provided not as a public service, but as a business service. Ergo, they have to make money or they go. The rise of the popularity and decrease in the operating costs of cellular phones has eaten away the market base for payphones.

I understand that there will be some individuals who will be inconvenienced, and there will be situations where the lack of a Payphone service will be an annoyance (or worse), but the only way to keep Payphones alive is through subsidies. And these subsidies will come from either a) your cell-phone bill, or b) your taxes.

So unless pagers come back into fashion, it's goodbye phonebooths. Deal with it.

[Erick @ Dec 3rd 2007 2:13PM]

"yes the justice league got it right...no more pay phones is a national crisis...no not the war in iraq, our failing social security, or lack of free health care...yes justice league, you have your minds set in the right direction..."

Oh man. Not only was this a total display of ignorance, they also dont know The Justice League. HAHA WOW.

[billy bob thorton @ Dec 3rd 2007 2:35PM]

I used to have a pay as you go plan that averaged to about $6/month. So please spare us the pitty party. Landlines cost upwards of $30/month after taxes and fees unless you file special "i'm poor" papers. Even then it's almost $20/month.

tmobile offers a prepaid plan that is only $100 and gets you 1000 minutes that last a year. $8.33/month no hidden fees.

don't need to talk and only need to dial 911, go to goodwill and pick out a phone for $2 and keep the phone off until you need it to keep the battery charged.

[3rdsun @ Dec 3rd 2007 2:51PM]

Drug dealers and pimps everywhere are mourning the lost of an icon in their business model. Oh well they'll get over it

[Markus @ Dec 3rd 2007 2:54PM]

When was the last time any payphone wasn't used for some illegal purpose? DESTROY THEM!

[Morrison @ Dec 3rd 2007 3:04PM]

They've been phasing them out a lot here too, until about.. 3-4 months ago, starting popping up all over the place... must be some committee behind it, old people run this country, sigh.