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AT&T to hang up on the pay phone business next year

If you've tried to find a pay phone lately, you might have thought AT&T had already gotten out of that business awhile ago. But no -- the reconstituted Ma Bell announced today that it will no longer offer pay phone service by the end of next year.

Go ahead, AT&T P.R. Department, it's your dime:

AT&T's Public Communications unit has continued to experience significant pressure from reduced pay phone usage, primarily as a result of the growth of alternative communications choices, such as wireless phones and personal communication devices.

The company plans to phase out both public pay phones and phones provided under contracts at government correctional facilities through the end of next year. All customers will receive advance notification of specific plans as well as information on other potential providers and product options.

The move affects AT&T pay phones in the company's traditional 13-state service area only. BellSouth Corp., which was acquired by AT&T Inc. in late 2006, had previously exited the pay phone business in its nine-state service area. AT&T's wholesale pay phone services are not affected.

AT&T says there were 2.6 million pay phones in the United States in 1998, while today there are only 1 million.

The culprit, of course, is cell phones, which AT&T also sells. Mobile phone penetration in the U.S. is at 84 percent. In some places on the globe, it's well over 100 percent.

Still, there are people who can't afford them, and they're the ones most apt to be hurt by the paucity of pay phones. Hopefully, competition in the wireless business will drive prices down enough to make it easier for the disadvantaged to afford them, before the pay phone goes the way of the rotary dial.

I just noticed that this Fall!

I couldn't tell you the last time I saw a payphone. I don't know if they have them in this town at all. :-3

I think that's sad. I have a cell now but when I didn't I had to rely on payphones to call cabs. What do cell-less people do? What if you break down somewhere and no one will help you or call for you or there is no one and there's also no payphone? Not a good idea AT&T! Phbbbbt!

About twenty years ago, you could make free pay phone calls by pressing the next number in the phone number with your other index finger, before releasing the previous button, so that the tone was a continuous sound, without interruptions.

Worked like a charm, for about two years, before the phone company fixed the glitch.

That's a pretty cool trick. Wish I had known, I would have tried it! :wah:

RedGlitter;732431 wrote: What if you break down somewhere and no one will help you or call for you or there is no one and there's also no payphone?


"There's a light, over at the Frankenstein place..."

Richard Bell;732480 wrote: "There's a light, over at the Frankenstein place..."


Hehe.....

They took four out of the center of town this summer, what if you dont have a cell phone?

Indian Princess;733259 wrote: They took four out of the center of town this summer, what if you dont have a cell phone?


I've never even used a cell phone, much less owned one.

We have lost all but two of our pay phones which really stinks .

A lot of elderly people don't have mobile phones,so they are left out on a limb.

I had to call a cab for an older lady when we were out shopping,she couldn't walk to the post office to call a cab.I didn't have my car.

Perfect example to leave the phones alone.

In the UK for several decades the telephone company was a public utility. That placed an obligation on them to consider social issues as well as shareholder profit. Since then the company has been privatized and competitors permitted. Social issues are no longer a binding factor in their policies. Why would any public company or corporation consider social welbeing if there's no obligation on them to do so and it reduces their profit margin?

Humanitarian reasons?

RedGlitter;733537 wrote: Humanitarian reasons?


Any board of a corporation which prejudiced shareholder value and dividend for any reason other than obeying the law would be replaced with a board which focused on maximizing those returns and quite possibly be jailed for fraud into the bargain. Humanitarian considerations are either a legal obligation or they're impossible to effect. Give me a single instance of a corporation reducing its profitability for humanitarian reasons without a legal obligation to do so. It's possible for a company in private ownership if the owner chooses, but not for one that's publicly owned. Phone companies tend to be quoted on stock markets. If an area of business is operating at a loss it gets closed or sold elsewhere.

spot;733564 wrote: Any board of a corporation which prejudiced shareholder value and dividend for any reason other than obeying the law would be replaced with a board which focused on maximizing those returns and quite possibly be jailed for fraud into the bargain. Humanitarian considerations are either a legal obligation or they're impossible to effect. Give me a single instance of a corporation reducing its profitability for humanitarian reasons without a legal obligation to do so. It's possible for a company in private ownership if the owner chooses, but not for one that's publicly owned. Phone companies tend to be quoted on stock markets. If an area of business is operating at a loss it gets closed or sold elsewhere.


I believe that it is a legal obligation on the Board to act in the best interest of the shareholder and maximise profit and therefore illegal for them to act for humanitarian reasons.

IcePrincess;733566 wrote: We still have them here in our town- but our payphones are put out by Qwest. They just put in new ones 2 yrs ago.


I wonder who put Qwest stickers on them? This ties in with their 2006 annual accounts:Qwest Communications will sell exit its pay phone business by selling the operations across its 14-state local access area to FSH Communications. Financial terms were not disclosed. As part of the deal, Qwest will remain the primary supplier of public access lines, operator services and long-distance capacity to FSH. The commercial terms available to pay phone customers will remain substantially unchanged following the closing of the transaction.

"Over the past two years, we have engaged in a detailed examination of all Qwest's lines of business to maximize the profitability of our core operations," said Ken Dunn, Qwest vice president of corporate development and strategy. "Given the growth of the wireless industry, the pay phone business no longer fits with our long-term plans."

http://www.qwest.com

10-May-04

http://www.convergedigest.com/Bandwidth ... p?ID=11057

So is AT&T the only company who puts out payphones? Are we talking no phones at all or just no phones from AT&T??

Maybe I live in a dream world & would just love it if big corporations would think on the humanitarian side of things & not the almighty $$$$.

I know this will never happen though,but I can dream.

Imagine

JL

You may say that I'm a dreamer

But I'm not the only one

I hope someday you'll join us

And the world will live as one :-6

BTS and I gave up our cell phone 2.5 yrs. ago. We only miss it on road trips. We decided the next road trip we would buy a temp cell phone................are we the only people who get by on landline?

I hardly use my landline or cellphone at all, I hate talking on the phone.The only reason i keep my cellphone is in case i am out somewhere and the car breaks down - because there are do few public phone booths.

lemon_and_mint;734393 wrote: I hardly use my landline or cellphone at all, I hate talking on the phone.The only reason i keep my cellphone is in case i am out somewhere and the car breaks down - because there are do few public phone booths.


As someone born in the distant past I grew up hearing the ring of a telephone as the trump of doom - the only time someone would 'phone you was in an emergency or when it was really bad news.

Old habits die hard.

I never realized that there aren't many pay phones around until I saw this thread....duh...silly me....

I have grown to despise phones .....seriously....I used to talk on the phone for hours with friends and families...now ummm, well yeah....the internet is much quieter for me--except in my head!:rolleyes:

I like Bryn remember when there were no Cell phones. It is sad that all pay phones will be a thing of the past soon.

Not sure how you solve the issue with the elderly. We have supplied my 80 year old mother with a cell phone for emergencies, along with AAA. The problem is her vision is so bad she can't see the numbers on the phone. She just hates it and refuses to learn how to use it. Still she has it if needed.

I work with the elderly and most wouldn't carry a cell phone much less use it, or know how to use it. That being said they should be supplied to them for emergency use only by the Cell Phone companies in my opinion. They make enough $$$$ off of us to give the elderly emergency phones only without much cost to them at all. They should be those phones that have the huge numbers for them to see.