payphones

     

A payphone or pay phone is a public telephone, with payment by inserting money (usually coins) or a ebit card (a special telephone card or a multi-purpose card) or credit card before a call is made. Some telephone companies have termed them, and tried (unsuccessfully) to get the public to identify them as "coin phones", because the term "pay phone" may imply that other phones are free. Payphones were once very common in the industrialized world, the rise of mobile phones has meant fewer payphones are available, and that those still in place are often poorly maintained.