Cel phones have been around since the mid to the late 1980s. The explosion of cel phones has created the near extinction of the payphone. The telecommunications business has made some dramatic changes in the last 1/3 of a century.

1) Cel phones are being used by everyone. In 1985 only a few people had a phone, and now, kids in the 6th grade bring them to school.
2) AT&T being broken up into Ma Bell & several Baby Bell companies.
3) The Baby Bell companies started merging together Ultimately, they became a company bigger than Ma Bell.
4) AT&T was the largest cable TV system provider. They sold the cable business to Comcast and they remained in long distance phone business.
5) After swallowing up other Baby Bells, SBC / Southwestern Bell buys Ma Bell (AT&T) and changes it's name to AT&T.

HISTORY REPEATS - IN REVERSE:
AT&T OWNS BELL COMPANY - THEN BELL COMPANY BUYS AT&T

AT&T, and later, the Baby Bells used to have payphones everywhere. They were big money makers, but, they were also a big hassle. Vandalism was a huge problem. The engineers at Western Electric (AT&T subsidiary) created a near vandalism-proof payphone.

In a 1971 magazine ad, that I have posted below, the copy speaks about the hardships that the payphone has to go through. With all of the intentional human destruction inflicted on it, not to mention, the natural weather destruction, that Mother Nature threw at it, they still lasted for a long time. The teeny tiny cel phone was the creature that finally brought them to near extinction. 

Except for me, on a few occasions, nobody uses payphones any more. A piece of our pop culture history is slowing dying.

Well, let us not think about dying. Try to remember the good times. Remember back in the 70's, when you were an hour away from home and it was 10 minutes before your curfew? That black and shiny chrome payphone was your buddy. How about, when you had car problems at 2AM and you saw your "best friend" (the AT&T payphone) standing a few dozen feet away. You probably never bothered to be thankful. You just EXPECTED the payphone to be there for you. How typical. Well, now they are dying off and you are just shrugging your sholders. You are all inhuman monsters, I don't want to have anymore to do with your monstrous behavior, I need to have a good cry.

Here is a a 1971 magazine ad, for the AT&T payphone. I have to stop typing, tears are dripping down my face and I can't see the keyboard.

 

  







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