Pay phones find calling despite plunging numbers

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Pay phones don't get a ringing endorsement from consumers.

The popularity of cell phones has made them a lonely alternative in an increasingly wireless world, but companies that own pay phones don't expect them to face extinction.

"There is going to be a base of users who will always be users of pay phones, either because they don't want a cell phone or they can't afford one," said Rich Fouke, manager of business development at Verizon Public Communications, the Verizon subsidiary that operates 320,000 pay phones in 38 states.

Even while pay phones disappear, an increase in a fee paid to companies operating the phones is likely to boost revenue when it takes effect today.

The number of pay phones has plunged from 2.6 million in 1998 to 1.4 million, according to the Federal Communications Commission, while cell phone subscribers have increased to 169 million.

The first public, coin-operated phone was installed in Hartford, Conn., in 1889. The first outdoor pay phone didn't appear until 1905. Then they became present seemingly at every busy intersection.

With the growth of the wireless industry, companies that operate pay phones have engaged in a strategy to remove underused phones or move them to where they will generate revenue, said Jonathan Krasner, general manager of Robin Technologies Inc., a Rockville company that owns 1,000 pay phones in metropolitan Washington.

Verizon had 425,000 pay phones two years ago, before scaling back. Two regional Bell operating companies are getting out of the business. Qwest Communications International Inc. said this year it will sell its 85,000 pay phones, and BellSouth Corp. sold off its 143,000 pay phones and got out of the business last year to focus on wireless telecommunication.

"There used to be a phone on every corner. Pay phone owners are being much more selective about where they put the phones. They are still used, and one reason the FCC wants them to stick around is because they work, especially in an emergency," Mr. Krasner said.

There still is money to be made by operating pay phones, he said.