Would anyone know accurately the going rate for a phoneco provided pay phone?
Payphones on private property always had cost/commissions. If a payphone had low use, the property owner had to cover the cost of the phone to the phone company. If the payphone had heavy use, the property owner would get a commission from the telephone company.
AFAIK, this policy continues to this day. Obviously with wide spread cell phones many payphones have been pulled out.
Some public transit carriers maintain public pay phones in their stations, partly for traditional communication use, but also as a double role to serve as an emergency phone; that is, anyone could use the phone for free to call 911 for help.
Presumably it's cheaper (and more convenient for the public) to have a general use payphone than a dedicated private 911 phone.
***** Moderator's Note *****I'll add my own question: what does it cost to buy your own cocot instead of getting one from the ILEC?
Bill Horne Temporary Moderator
Please put [Telecom] at the end of your subject line, or I may never see your post! Thanks!
We have a new address for email submissions: telecomdigestmoderator atsign telecom-digest.org. This is only for those who submit posts via email: if you use a newsreader or a web interface to contribute to the digest, you don't need to change anything.