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.
singpolyma3 53 minutes ago [-]
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.
macintux 43 minutes ago [-]
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.
How many phone numbers do you have memorized? These days I only know a few but I used to know dozens.
userbinator 40 minutes ago [-]
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".
PyWoody 30 seconds ago [-]
__Phones-formally-known-as-pay__
runako 29 minutes ago [-]
Look at the device in TFA. That's a pay phone, which is also a way of describing a specific range of hardware types.
arbuge 44 minutes ago [-]
> free-to-use pay phones
Some redundant words there perhaps.
dylan604 30 minutes ago [-]
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
thaumasiotes 36 minutes ago [-]
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.
Apparently they're a genuine lifeline for people fleeing from abusive relationships; they need to leave their mobile behind to avoid being tracked.
https://www.mintz.com/insights-center/viewpoints/2776/2025-1...
But that would seem true today as well.
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.
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