A Dying Breed?

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LKeithR

Improving daily--I think.
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Nov 9, 2009
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I don't know about where you live but in our neck of the woods it is now almost impossible to find a telephone booth--something that was once ubiquitous is now an endangered species. I guess cell phones have become so universal that the phone companies simply don't see the need for them any more. This (half) booth sits beside a small cafe at our local airport. I can only think of one or two others in the area. How are phone booths doing where you live?

Taken with my (evil) Pentax K20D and my recently acquired Industar 50-2 50/3.5 M42 lens. I love the character this lens seems to impart to images...

p474555969-5.jpg
 
LKeithR said:
I don't know about where you live but in our neck of the woods it is now almost impossible to find a telephone booth--something that was once ubiquitous is now an endangered species. I guess cell phones have become so universal that the phone companies simply don't see the need for them any more. This (half) booth sits beside a small cafe at our local airport. I can only think of one or two others in the area. How are phone booths doing where you live?
Click to expand...
Slightly OT, but you might like to know that Vancouver is installing NEW pay phones in the downtown east side so at-risk people can call emergency services.
 
I our area you'll mainly see the type of phone like in your picture...most of them are at liquor stores, 7/11's, gas stations, grocery store, airports and places as such...there aren't as many as there used to be but there are still around...what you really don't see are the phone booth type phones with the doors...
 
When there were no telephone calls possible between Iraq and USA, I found a telephone booth on the island Runde (Norway) which allowed me to call my parents in Iraq. That was cool.
 
LKeithR said:
There is an antique store not too far from where I live that has an identical booth to this on sale...

@Haempe...
The phone booth in your shot looks like the cab off a piece of machinery...
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Yes the old ones are sold off to companies who give them a lick of paint and sell them to anyone who wants. They a leave a few dotted about for the tourists. Bit like route master busses.
 
The phone booths down here - most located at 711 and Circle K type stores - seem to be used mainly by junkies and hookers. Or illegal immigrants trying to contact a relative.
 
You are talking about phone booths? With smartphones like iPhone and others, I rarely see the "old" flip cellphones (e.g Moto Razor) nowadays.
 
A lot of the payphones in the US were sold by the major phone companies and are now managed by specialty telecom companies. They don't have the maintenance teams that the majors had, so a lot of phones simply fall into disrepair or are vandalized beyond usability. Not to mention the rates seem to be ever-changing.

I think the French and several other countries had it right 20+ years ago when they started making payphones that didn't take any cash whatsoever. You had to buy a phonecard. No cash on site meant one less reason to beat the crap out of a phone.

But yeah, I think for the most part cheap and prepaid mobile phones have nearly killed the payphone. Even the homeless seem to have mobile phones. I do still see payphones at gas stations, convenience stores, etc. And also some factories and schools - two places where sometimes the people there aren't allowed to have cell phones.
 
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