VoIP brings back old-fashioned pay phones to rural Vermont (2025)(spectrum.ieee.org) |
VoIP brings back old-fashioned pay phones to rural Vermont (2025)(spectrum.ieee.org) |
Apparently they're a genuine lifeline for people fleeing from abusive relationships; they need to leave their mobile behind to avoid being tracked.
I would be keen to know the total cost to run and maintain everything. There is a ton of boxes still around.
Is it common for providers to charge for emergency service access? I thought this was a given.
In my country we don’t have operational phone booths any longer, and haven’t had them for many, many years. They even went as far in my country as to dismantle and remove all of them save for a few that are still around for sentimental reasons but also not operational.
https://www.mintz.com/insights-center/viewpoints/2776/2025-1...
But that would seem true today as well.
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. :)
We'll have to wait for the final guidance from the FCC, but as a telecoms provider I'm quite concerned about the direction.
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.
I guess you could make it so that the person receiving the call hears a message saying this is a payphone.
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
free-to-use pay phones
What an oxymoron. I suggest the term "public phone".
Some redundant words there perhaps.
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.
Since my local police department has no direct dial number, non-emergency calls are routed through 911; that's pretty unusual, but I don't want to pay $75 to call police non-emergency, so I pay the $1.50.
I've never seen emergency calling broken out on my bill from an ILEC though.
I was in Barcelona for a few weeks for work. While I don’t want to pretend there are no problems, I can only say that life seemed better and happier than back home. I didn’t sense the cynicism that I’m used to. It was especially jarring considering that pretty much everyone is underpaid by American professional standards.
That said, it’s anecdotal, I speak mediocre Spanish and toddler level Catalan, and my boss was paying the bill. But it was still striking to me.