Source: TIMOTHY A. CLARY / Getty
Last week, a photo of pay phones being removed from Time Square in New York City went viral. One of New York City’s verified accounts on TikTok used the caption “the last pay phone in NYC was removed today from Times Square.” And although the post was not true, pay phones are quickly disappearing in this new age of WiFi, cellphones and the advancement of new technology. According to CNN Money, in 1999, there were 2 million pay phones in the US. Verizon was the last carrier to sell its pay phones to independent businesses in 2011. CNN Money also reports that 1100 companies now own 100,000 pay phones that remain in the country. Two years ago, it was estimated that 3000 of those phones were located in New York. In 2015, just seven years ago, an FCC report showed that pay phones generated $286 million in revenue. However, many owners of pay phone companies say that it felt like FCC regulators were no longer concerned about the pay phone marketplace. In 2003, the FCC implemented an audit rule that insured network carriers properly reimbursed independent service providers. That rule is no longer in effect. The owner of Express Telephone Systems in Illinois, told CNN Money in 2018, that 120 pay phones in suburban Chicago was “bleeding his books” and that he planned to close his business.
