# Have payphones been rendered obsolete by cell phones? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 28, 2008, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-payphones-been-rendered-obsolete-by-cell-phones/435286 "2008-01-28T05:22:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![SmackFu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@SmackFu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmackFu)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2008, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-payphones-been-rendered-obsolete-by-cell-phones/435286/21 "2008-01-28T18:18:08Z")
[QUOTE=Barbarian] I use payphones often because I’m not going to spend upwards of $55/month to carry around a phone. [/QUOTE] When’s the last time you looked at phones? Times have changed. You can get a Virgin Mobile prepaid and you only have to put $20 on every 3 months. ---
**Author:** ![Carol\_the\_Impaler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Carol\_the\_Impaler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carol_the_Impaler)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2008, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-payphones-been-rendered-obsolete-by-cell-phones/435286/22 "2008-01-28T18:30:21Z")
Still not worth it. I don’t have a cell, either. And since I don’t have a car and take a taxi home from the grocery store, I use pay phones twice a month. That’s $1.00 per month to call a taxi versus $6.66 a month. ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2008, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-payphones-been-rendered-obsolete-by-cell-phones/435286/23 "2008-01-28T18:48:08Z")
> [@](#): > > There were nearly 2.1 million pay phones in the U.S. in the late 1990s. Today, there are a little more than 1.3 million. The growing popularity of cell phones is the main culprit for the pay phone’s demise. While the pay phone population has dwindled, cell phone subscriptions have skyrocketed from about 200,000 in 1985 to more than 197 million today. > > Although pay phone usage has decreased 40 percent decrease in recent years, there’s still a niche user market – namely those who don’t have cell phones, are in areas without coverage or who are experiencing an emergency, said Lee Gierczynski, a Verizon spokesman based in Pittsburgh. Another core market for pay phones, industry insiders say, is in poorer areas where people may not have home or cellular service, making the pay phone a necessity. [http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/s\_386852.html](http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/s_386852.html) > [@](#): > > The overall total of payphones in West Virginia decreased by 828 in 2006, a decline of 11.8% from the previous year. Since the deregulation of the payphone industry in 1998, West Virginia has lost 4,823 payphones, a 44% decline. There are now a total of 6,190 payphones in West Virginia. Competitors supply 995 of these payphones, 16.1% of the total. Incumbent phone companies supply the rest. [http://www.cad.state.wv.us/06PayphoneReport.htm](http://www.cad.state.wv.us/06PayphoneReport.htm) > [@](#): > > The Federal Communications Commission reported 24,784 pay phones in Maryland in March 2006, down 12,999 phones, or 34 percent, from five years earlier. Nationally, pay phones went from about 1.9 million to about 1 million during the same time, FCC statistics show. > > * * * > > The cell-phone explosion is a major reason pay phones are dying, said Mason Harris, president of the Atlantic Pay Phone Association. > > With pay phones eking out smaller revenues, providers such as the ones Harris’ organization represents struggle to make a profit. When they don’t, the pay phones go. > > “Unfortunately, I do think that the numbers are going to continue to decrease,” said Harris, who is also president of Robin Technologies in Rockville. [http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/bal-md.payphone01jan01,0,3797741.story](http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/bal-md.payphone01jan01,0,3797741.story) ---
**Author:** ![Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19adc/32.png) [@Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2008, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-payphones-been-rendered-obsolete-by-cell-phones/435286/24 "2008-01-28T19:34:55Z")
[QUOTE=SmackFu] When’s the last time you looked at phones? Times have changed. You can get a Virgin Mobile prepaid and you only have to put $20 on every 3 months. [/QUOTE] I know I don’t have my location filled out with a specific geographic area, but you might want to read my post again. Specifically the part where I mention Canadian rates being much higher than in the U.S. That’s a clue. ---
**Author:** ![SmackFu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@SmackFu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmackFu)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2008, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-payphones-been-rendered-obsolete-by-cell-phones/435286/25 "2008-01-28T20:05:37Z")
Oh sorry, sucks to be Canadian. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2008, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-payphones-been-rendered-obsolete-by-cell-phones/435286/26 "2008-01-28T20:17:51Z")
[QUOTE=An Gadaí] American payphones are dodgy in that it takes a lot of money to pay for a decent length call but they only accept quarters. It drove me bananas the last time I was in O’Hare. [/QUOTE] Generally, you can place a toll-free call on a US payphone without needing any change, so I try to keep a prepaid calling card in my wallet, although they added a surcharge a couple of years ago, so the phone operator gets about $0.50 worth of minutes, in addition to the actual call charge. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2008, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-payphones-been-rendered-obsolete-by-cell-phones/435286/27 "2008-01-28T21:19:43Z")
I tried to use a prepaid card my friend gave me but it demanded I pay a fee of $1.50 or something like that in order to use it. I didn’t have that much in change having already poured several quarters into the darn thing. ---
**Author:** ![Santo\_Rugger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Santo\_Rugger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santo_Rugger)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2008, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-payphones-been-rendered-obsolete-by-cell-phones/435286/28 "2008-01-28T21:27:34Z")
[QUOTE=Barbarian] I know I don’t have my location filled out with a specific geographic area, but you might want to read my post again. Specifically the part where I mention Canadian rates being much higher than in the U.S. That’s a clue. [/QUOTE] It’s $25 Canadian every 90 days. That’s about equal to $20 American these days, isn’t it? 😉 Cite: [Mobile Phones & Plans - Virgin Plus](http://www.virginmobile.ca/site/en/pricesAndFeatures/html/topup.html) ---
**Author:** ![jasonh300](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/46a35a/32.png) [@jasonh300](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasonh300)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2008, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-payphones-been-rendered-obsolete-by-cell-phones/435286/29 "2008-01-29T02:37:20Z")
[QUOTE=Santo Rugger] It’s $25 Canadian every 90 days. That’s about equal to $20 American these days, isn’t it? 😉 [/QUOTE] I’m not sure how to convert a Canadian Day to a U.S. Day, but the Canadian and U.S. Dollar were almost exactly the same today…$1 Canadian to $1.0044 U.S. [QUOTE=Ice Wolf] - There are 3 Telecom New Zealand Payphones in Antarctica [/QUOTE] How does this work? Are they connected to satellites? Or is there a hardwire connecting Antarctica and New Zealand? And who uses these phones? I’d think that the researchers down there would have state-of-the-art communications equipment and wouldn’t need a pay phone. And is there a 7-Eleven in Antarctica where the phones are located? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![cookeze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e19b73/32.png) [@cookeze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cookeze)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2008, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-payphones-been-rendered-obsolete-by-cell-phones/435286/30 "2008-01-29T03:06:02Z")
Something that is disappearing along with the pay phones are the phone books that went with them. I consider these to be just as important a resource. You go to a strange city, or the other side of town, and want to locate some place to eat, for example, it is much harder to do today. The phone books also have other resources, like where to get help, other than dialing 911. They have bus routes, info on local events, and maps. And the Yellow Pages. The books started disappearing when the phones became private. I was in Sacramento 3 years ago and in the whole town we could locate only one damn pay phone with a phone book. Ended up checking into Motel 6 and stealing one of theirs. ---
**Author:** ![Cerowyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/82dd89/32.png) [@Cerowyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cerowyn)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2008, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-payphones-been-rendered-obsolete-by-cell-phones/435286/31 "2008-01-29T08:26:46Z")
[QUOTE=Barbarian] I know I don’t have my location filled out with a specific geographic area, but you might want to read my post again. Specifically the part where I mention Canadian rates being much higher than in the U.S. That’s a clue. [/QUOTE] I suspect your data is out-of-date. Virgin Mobile in Canada has a “no-contract” $20/month rate that buys you 200 minutes. Virgin Mobile in the US has a similar $14.99/month rate that buys you 100 minutes. The Canadian deal is actually better than the US one. Bell Canada, Rogers, Fido [mini-Rogers] and Telus all offer contract plans from $20/month. ---
**Author:** ![Ice\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@Ice\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Wolf)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2008, 9:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-payphones-been-rendered-obsolete-by-cell-phones/435286/32 "2008-01-29T09:48:30Z")
Re: the Antarctica payphones (hey, I was as surprised as anybody when Telecom said that!) [QUOTE=jasonh300] How does this work? Are they connected to satellites? Or is there a hardwire connecting Antarctica and New Zealand? And who uses these phones? I’d think that the researchers down there would have state-of-the-art communications equipment and wouldn’t need a pay phone. And is there a 7-Eleven in Antarctica where the phones are located? 🙂 [/QUOTE] Behold – [the payphones of Antarctica.](http://www.payphone-project.com/gallery/Antarctica) And it looks like [satelite technology’s behind them.](http://www.smh.com.au/news/Management-Focus/Cool-runnings/2005/04/11/1113071897708.html) ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2008, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-payphones-been-rendered-obsolete-by-cell-phones/435286/33 "2008-01-29T12:41:49Z")
At the (rural) airport that I fly at, the county got rid of the payphone - it was costing the county significant money. They just put a regular phone (no long distance service) in the Arrival / Departure building. You can still call 1-8xx lines so you can use calling cards. Local calls (and of course 911) are free to the user. Cheaper for users, and cheaper for the county. Brian ---
**Author:** ![Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19adc/32.png) [@Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2008, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-payphones-been-rendered-obsolete-by-cell-phones/435286/34 "2008-01-29T13:57:18Z")
[QUOTE=Cerowyn] Virgin Mobile in Canada has a “no-contract” $20/month rate that buys you 200 minutes. Virgin Mobile in the US has a similar $14.99/month rate that buys you 100 minutes. The Canadian deal is actually better than the US one. Bell Canada, Rogers, Fido [mini-Rogers] and Telus all offer contract plans from $20/month. [/QUOTE] Nope, that’s all current with what existed last time I checked. On all of those plans it gets pricey fast if you go over your allotted minutes one month. And if you have a month with lower usage, forget about rollover. I prefer pay as you go plans anyway.. and nothing in Canada is anywhere close to the U.S. I still have minutes on my T-Mobile phone that’s been virtually inactive for the past few months. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2008, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-payphones-been-rendered-obsolete-by-cell-phones/435286/35 "2008-01-29T17:30:11Z")
[QUOTE=C K Dexter Haven] (c) the battery would have died when I got back anyhow. [/QUOTE] That’s why you turn it off. The batteries can hold a charge for months. I always carry my cell with me, even if it won’t work where I’m going; because I know I’m probably going need it when I get back. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2008, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-payphones-been-rendered-obsolete-by-cell-phones/435286/36 "2008-01-29T17:40:29Z")
It’s been a few years since I’ve been in rural West Virginia, but there used to be many dead spots that you would hit in the mountains where cell phones were just little paperweights. I remember several times having to search out a payphone at an out of the way gas station, restaurant, or bar. I’m sure that coverage has creeped into a lot of areas, but I’ll bet that there are still some out of the way places where you need pay phones… ---
**Author:** ![zuma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9c0ed/32.png) [@zuma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zuma)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2008, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-payphones-been-rendered-obsolete-by-cell-phones/435286/37 "2008-01-29T17:50:54Z")
Um, I’ve used a pay phone 3-4 times in the last year or so. Either I forgot my cell telephonic device, or the batteries were dead. I was able to call from SF to other parts of the bay area for 50 cents. I kind of am confused where this 22 dollar shit comes into play. I think the phones I saw advertised cheap per minute costs. Finding a pay phone, on the other hand… ---
**Author:** ![zuma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9c0ed/32.png) [@zuma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zuma)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2008, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-payphones-been-rendered-obsolete-by-cell-phones/435286/38 "2008-01-29T17:53:21Z")
They really need to put more phone booths around though… ---
**Author:** ![Cyberhwk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7993a0/32.png) [@Cyberhwk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyberhwk)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2008, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-payphones-been-rendered-obsolete-by-cell-phones/435286/39 "2008-01-29T18:06:23Z")
I don’t even know when the last time I even SAW a pay phone was. ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2008, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-payphones-been-rendered-obsolete-by-cell-phones/435286/40 "2008-01-29T18:33:24Z")
I was at Midway last month without my cell phone (I had lost it before the trip and hadn’t had a chance to replace it) and couldn’t find a pay phone. The first airport employee I asked didn’t have any idea where they were. Then I finally found out where they were - _behind_ the gate desks, right next to a TV screen that was so loud it was almost impossible to have a coherent conversation. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-payphones-been-rendered-obsolete-by-cell-phones/435286.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-payphones-been-rendered-obsolete-by-cell-phones/435286.md?page=3)