I remember reading some stats on the Telstra phone boxes, they help a lot of people in need. A ton of calls go to emergency services, government services, etc.
I would be keen to know the total cost to run and maintain everything. There is a ton of boxes still around.
I wish we had that in the US. Not due to abuse victims per se (though that does sound super useful for them), but just because it would be nice to not have to carry a cell phone to get ahold of people.
I wonder how this will work with the FCC's proposed regulation to require ID, address, and "alternate phone number" for anyone who make make a phone call.
That sounds alarming, but from reading more about it, it doesn't seem like it would be relevant to this, although in the long run it's certainly possible that calling from a payphone would never actually reach someone directly, being shunted to the "you probably don't care about this" purgatory voicemail.
I appreciated the concern, but after looking into it, that’s much more than what the FCC has proposed.
The “ID, address, and alternate phone number” idea is part of a proposed Know-Your-Customer rule for artificial voice service providers when they sign up or renew customers, especially to stop illegal robocallers from getting network access. It’s not a requirement that every person provide ID before placing each phone call.
The call-branding proposal is separate: it’s about displaying verified caller name/branding information when a call gets top-level STIR/SHAKEN attestation.
“ID required for anyone who makes a call” is doing a little too much work. The telecom acronyms are exhausting enough without adding extra panic. :)
A few family, a few friends, some past work numbers, some of my phone numbers from a decade or two ago when I occasionally changed them, the Apple switchboard because I might have bled in six colors a long time ago, and of course Jenny because if not for her I'd have no clue whose phone number to give to the grocery store checkout system.
I know half a dozen. All from the 80s and 90s, and only two which actually exist today.
Other than that I know mine and my wife’s.
Oddly enough I knew a company which had a phone number which was two digits transposed from my home number - 818614. My number until about 1993 was 818641. Didn’t realise the company was still going until a couple of weeks ago when a lorry pulled up outside my window with the name and phone number on.
The other number I remember is my school number for some reason, I can’t think of ever have rung it. It’s still the same number today, 30 years later.
You could use a pay phone to call the operator. You can use it to make collect calls. Hell, if you were industrious enough, you could trick the phone into giving you a dial tone for free. The VoIP ones will probably be harder to trick though
Why? Payphones have never been distinguished by the fact that you had to pay to use them. You also had to pay for the phone in your home.
Payphones were distinguished by the fact that they were located in convenient public places, and if you needed to contact someone, you could use them. That's still true here.
One of the few good things that Telstra did in Australia was open up their whole old payphone network for free, nationwide.
Apparently they're a genuine lifeline for people fleeing from abusive relationships; they need to leave their mobile behind to avoid being tracked.
I remember reading some stats on the Telstra phone boxes, they help a lot of people in need. A ton of calls go to emergency services, government services, etc.
I would be keen to know the total cost to run and maintain everything. There is a ton of boxes still around.
> A ton of calls go to emergency services, government services, etc.
Is it common for providers to charge for emergency service access? I thought this was a given.
I believe emergency services calls are free. The cost being talked about is the maintenance cost to the provider.
Getting the correct keys to pay phones in the US seems to be a challenge.
I wish we had that in the US. Not due to abuse victims per se (though that does sound super useful for them), but just because it would be nice to not have to carry a cell phone to get ahold of people.
I wonder how this will work with the FCC's proposed regulation to require ID, address, and "alternate phone number" for anyone who make make a phone call.
That sounds alarming, but from reading more about it, it doesn't seem like it would be relevant to this, although in the long run it's certainly possible that calling from a payphone would never actually reach someone directly, being shunted to the "you probably don't care about this" purgatory voicemail.
https://www.mintz.com/insights-center/viewpoints/2776/2025-1...
But that would seem true today as well.
I appreciated the concern, but after looking into it, that’s much more than what the FCC has proposed.
The “ID, address, and alternate phone number” idea is part of a proposed Know-Your-Customer rule for artificial voice service providers when they sign up or renew customers, especially to stop illegal robocallers from getting network access. It’s not a requirement that every person provide ID before placing each phone call.
The call-branding proposal is separate: it’s about displaying verified caller name/branding information when a call gets top-level STIR/SHAKEN attestation.
“ID required for anyone who makes a call” is doing a little too much work. The telecom acronyms are exhausting enough without adding extra panic. :)
How many phone numbers do you have memorized? These days I only know a few but I used to know dozens.
A few family, a few friends, some past work numbers, some of my phone numbers from a decade or two ago when I occasionally changed them, the Apple switchboard because I might have bled in six colors a long time ago, and of course Jenny because if not for her I'd have no clue whose phone number to give to the grocery store checkout system.
I know half a dozen. All from the 80s and 90s, and only two which actually exist today.
Other than that I know mine and my wife’s.
Oddly enough I knew a company which had a phone number which was two digits transposed from my home number - 818614. My number until about 1993 was 818641. Didn’t realise the company was still going until a couple of weeks ago when a lorry pulled up outside my window with the name and phone number on.
The other number I remember is my school number for some reason, I can’t think of ever have rung it. It’s still the same number today, 30 years later.
This is an example of the few places where something like this is feasible.
free-to-use pay phones
What an oxymoron. I suggest the term "public phone".
Look at the device in TFA. That's a pay phone, which is also a way of describing a specific range of hardware types.
Phones-formally-known-as-pay
> free-to-use pay phones
Some redundant words there perhaps.
You could use a pay phone to call the operator. You can use it to make collect calls. Hell, if you were industrious enough, you could trick the phone into giving you a dial tone for free. The VoIP ones will probably be harder to trick though
Why? Payphones have never been distinguished by the fact that you had to pay to use them. You also had to pay for the phone in your home.
Payphones were distinguished by the fact that they were located in convenient public places, and if you needed to contact someone, you could use them. That's still true here.
(2025) OP
Prior to that: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44188204
See also:
Futel (Portland, Wash. State etc) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42220598
Philtel (Philadelphia) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33851030
dudes rock