Thursday, June 02, 2016

Pay Phone's Orderly End

Andy | Thursday, June 02, 2016 | Best Blogger Tips
A hard wired, coin-operated outdoor telephone might seem archaic in a world of smartphones, but Canada’s telecom regulator says payphones still fill a need. That’s why the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission is proposing to tighten the rules companies must follow when they decide to cut the cord on the last public phone in a community. We’re talking here about Canadians that are more vulnerable, low-income Canadians, the homeless, maybe perhaps victims of abuse that don’t have the financial means to even have landlines or wireless phones that need to contact the government for social and medical services.

The commission is proposing that companies be obligated to notify communities affected, including municipalities and First Nations, before removing the last public phone. They would also have to notify communities before removing a phone where wireless service is not available. People living in rural and urban communities would also be allowed to express their opinions to local authorities regarding the removal of certain payphones. 

15 comments:

  1. Here the public telephones have all gone by now I think.

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  2. Nice that you still have them and more important still in working order. Lovely.

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  3. Good idea to keep some of the pay phones. We have one way down the road and some in the city still. Not everyone has landline or smartphone etc. as you say.

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  4. That seems like a smart rule to follow. I haven't seen a phone booth around for a very long time.

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  5. A good policy for an endangered public service. Pay phones are harder to find everyday and when you do locate one in most cases its been vandalized.

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  6. Something to think about, I never see them here!

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  7. In our part of the U.S. pay phones are certainly archaic. I photograph them when ever I see one that still exists, and I don't get to photograph many. These look completely up to date, even taking credit cards.

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  8. They have all but disappeared around here; I was surprised when I recently saw an operational one.

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  9. It is such a surprise when you happen upon one these days!

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  10. At least this one is in far superior condition to the one I photographed last month.

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  11. yes, you don't see them much around here (I don't remember having seen one in ages). not being cell phone addict myself, I somehow regret them disappearing.

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  12. In my area I rarely see a payphone anymore. However, I can see that they would fill a need.

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  13. This is a pleasant surprise...and how nice that they may not disappear arbitrarily as they seem to do in the U.S., though I did see one a week or two ago in a campground where there was no cell reception.

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