They removed the phone booth from across my apartment a couple years ago, I may have been the last person to use it, but only because I had locked my keys and phone in my apartment - I understand they can't keep them running for that, but it was really useful.
Last call for the phone booth?
21–30 of 57 posts
Re: Last call for the phone booth?
#22In Australia the leading telco is making all the phone booths (at least in sydney where I live) into wifi hotspots for its internet customers - clever - pay for your home internet and have wifi wherever you are - maybe nice in areas where there is not good mobile reception, for mobile workers etc
Comcast does this with their customers' cable modems (every cable modem broadcasts a Comcast network that any Comcast customer can use). It's somewhat evil and clever because it encourages you to use Comcast over and equivalent service because of the Internet access you get while out and about. They've given choosing an ISP a network effect.
Re: Last call for the phone booth?
#23In Australia the leading telco is making all the phone booths (at least in sydney where I live) into wifi hotspots for its internet customers - clever - pay for your home internet and have wifi wherever you are - maybe nice in areas where there is not good mobile reception, for mobile workers etc
It'd certainly be nicer if, like a phone booth, they let people who aren't members of said network connect for five minutes by putting a quarter into a machine, so that they could then use said wi-fi to, say, make a (VoIP) call.
Re: Last call for the phone booth?
#24One ongoing use of payphones: people with cheap, pay-by-the-minute cell phone plans calling toll-free numbers for utilities, banks, etc. so they don't have to use up their airtime while they're on hold. About two years ago I was in Chicago and noticed a well-maintained payphone. The company that operated it had even attached a decal with the toll free numbers for Comcast, Bank of America, the local electric company,…
I don't know if it's still a thing so much these days, they always used to be used likewise for international calling using a cheap international calling card. Make an untimed local call to the international call provider, they then use VOIP or something to route the call to the destination country, and turn it back to another untimed local call. Great for calling family back home when backpacking.
Re: Last call for the phone booth?
#25Earlier quoted context omitted.
I had to explain to a ~16 year old why it was called "dialing".
My parents didn't get rid of their rotary phone until the late 90s. Growing up, I always found it funny when my friends didn't know how to use it
I remember how it felt so high tech when putting in the number using beeppy buttons instead of the rotary dial !
Re: Last call for the phone booth?
#26One ongoing use of payphones: people with cheap, pay-by-the-minute cell phone plans calling toll-free numbers for utilities, banks, etc. so they don't have to use up their airtime while they're on hold. About two years ago I was in Chicago and noticed a well-maintained payphone. The company that operated it had even attached a decal with the toll free numbers for Comcast, Bank of America, the local electric company,…
Here is a weird little blip in those pre-paid cell phone plans: They generally charge the user for the minutes used when calling a toll-free number. Same for incoming calls.
I have always used pre-paid, mostly by the minute (though not always), because it winds up generally cheaper than any of the plans they offer as I don't use it much and never have. It was never really an issue with some companies, but I'd use a google Talk number for companies that tended to put places on hold.
This stuff didn't change until I switched countries: I'm pretty sure toll-free numbers are actually toll-free and I no longer get charged for incoming calls/texts, which means my pre-paid time lasts longer.
Re: Last call for the phone booth?
#27Earlier quoted context omitted.
I had to explain to a ~16 year old why it was called "dialing".
My parents didn't get rid of their rotary phone until the late 90s. Growing up, I always found it funny when my friends didn't know how to use it
My parents didn't get rid of theirs until about 5 or so years ago - I can't remember if it was because of the switch to a cell phone or their smaller house as they happened around the same time. I got to the point as a teenager that I tried to avoid using the phone to dial because it seemed so inconvenient.
Re: Last call for the phone booth?
#28In Australia the leading telco is making all the phone booths (at least in sydney where I live) into wifi hotspots for its internet customers - clever - pay for your home internet and have wifi wherever you are - maybe nice in areas where there is not good mobile reception, for mobile workers etc
It'd certainly be nicer if, like a phone booth, they let people who aren't members of said network connect for five minutes by putting a quarter into a machine, so that they could then use said wi-fi to, say, make a (VoIP) call.
That'd be an expensive machine! Take a look some time at the amount of design, machining, and just plain material that goes into pay phones, in the cause of defending against theft from their coin boxes - they're called "fortress phones" for good reason.
Re: Last call for the phone booth?
#29Re: Last call for the phone booth?
#30In Australia the leading telco is making all the phone booths (at least in sydney where I live) into wifi hotspots for its internet customers - clever - pay for your home internet and have wifi wherever you are - maybe nice in areas where there is not good mobile reception, for mobile workers etc
The ones that are connected to fibre are great. Free 200Mbit connection! But then there's the ADSL ones...