Next Generation Payphone Customer?
Who Still Uses Payphones?
Working Payphones Found in Seattle!
Val Vashon checks in with another dispatch from Seattle. This time the news is good: There are actually a couple of working payphones in Seattle, and they even accept incoming calls.
Phone Books for Phantom Phone Booths
One of the weird vagaries lingering among NYC's numerous abandoned phone booth locations is the fact that telephone directories still get delivered to them.
She was all alone and stranded in a strange city
"Patricia was crying softly. Heavy snow had slowed her bus so that she missed the last connection back to college. She was cold, lonely and stranded in a big city where she knew no one." Where would she go? What would she do?
Rogue Payphone Sighting
You don't see too many rogue payphones in New York. When you do you might want to move on to another payphone.
Underdog Communications: The Fine Print
Dialing instructions and other unreadable text matter fine print from a defunct payphone once owned by Underdog Communications .
NYTEL Payphone: The Fine Print
Dialing Instructions and other text matter from an NYTEL payphone, abandoned years ago.
1971: Why the street corner phone is no longer in danger of becoming extinct.
1971 advertisement promoting Western Electric's "armored pay phone".
Reliatel International Inc.: The Fine Print
Dialing instructions and other text matter from a Reliatel International Inc. pay telephone. Reliatel is now defunct.
BAS Communications: The Fine Print
Dialing instructions and other text matter from a BAS Communications public telephone.
Recalling Calling “Recalling 1993”
"Recalling 1993" is a payphone-based art project produced by the Droga5 ad agency and the New Museum. I put the project through its paces, calling in from dozens of Manhattan payphones and listening to recorded programs in which selected notables described New York City as it was in 1993. Read (and listen).
Old School NYNEX Public Phone Signage. April, 2013.
I spotted this old school NYNEX Public Phone sign lurking over a Queens subway station.
Paca-Tel Payphones: The Fine Print
Dialing instructions and other hard-to-read minutiæ found on a Paca-Tel payphone.
Coastal Communications: The Fine Print
Dialing instructions and other hard-to-read minutiæ found on a Coastal Communications payphone.
Another Abandoned PTS Payphone
Most of New York City's subway stations are littered with useless hulks of payphones abandoned by Pacific Telemanagement Services (PTS). Since PTS acquired most of Verizon's payphones devices like this one at the 53rd Street/Lexington Avenue stop have been left to rot. It is virtually impossible to find a working payphone in most of New York City's subways.
Titan: The Fine Print
Dialing Instruction found on a Titan Payphone.
A Sinner’s Prayer
I spotted this poem stuck under the handset of a midtown Manhattan payphone. I did what I sometimes do. I picked up the phone and called it in.
Payphones of the Future, Y2K Style
The payphone of the future has been around for a long time. Look at these examples from 2000 of hybrid devices combining public telephones with data services and fax machines.
Rockefeller Center’s “Communications” Portal
A curious bit of signage hovers over a semi-circular staircase at Rockefeller Center. I think it is payphone-related.
E.H.U.C.: The Fine Print
East Harlem Unity Communications (EHUC) is the best payphone service provider in New York City. I use payphones almost every day and can say with confidence that East Harlem's street phones are the best in town.
Telebeam: The Fine Print
Even the most intrepid payphone user is unlikely to read the fine print found on most public telephones. The text matter is teeny-tiny and frequently obscured by filth. I transcribed the text found on this Telebeam payphone in midtown Manhattan.
Tennessee State Payphone Locator, 2009 Data
Tennessee's 2009 "Request For Proposals for Payphone Service" included a gem that passed me by: A list of all known Tennessee State-managed payphones locations with phone numbers and revenues for the previous year.
Sorry!
This advertising-supported Telebeam payphone in Astoria has been "TEMPORARILY OUT OF SERVICE" for several years. I have attempted to do something about it.
Should the Emergency Callbox Be Reinvented?
One species of New York City public telephony which simply will not die is the red emergency call box. Though it seems like an unlikely source for inspiration perhaps the stubborn survival of this dinosaur technology could encourage entrants in NYC's current Reinvent the Payphone contest to explore ways to revive the callboxes as a complement to today's payphones, or even as the public telephone of the future.
Payphone Reinventors: Look to the Boneyard!
Contestants in New York City's Reinvent Payphones contest might want to look for inspiration from unlikely sources: How about the boneyard? That's where the winning entrant in Britain's payphone contest looked when developing the iconic K2 Phone Box.
NYC: Reinvent Payphones
New York City has turned to Joe Q. Public for ideas on the payphone of the future, focusing (among other things) on the role of public telephones as public utilities for disaster planning and emergency situations.
NYC Releases Its PPT (Public Pay Telephone) Dataset
As someone whose longtime interest in payphones has been met with a mix of ambivalence and ridicule I find it interesting to see the variety of perspectives giving fresh attention the subject. In the wake of superstorm Sandy it appears that payphones are being taken seriously for their role in public safety.