Commissioner Tate's Remarks on Public Payphones

COMMISSIONER TATE'S REMARKS AT THE AMERICAN PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS COUNCIL
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission]
In a world where it seems like almost everyone has a cellphone - and indeed, where 6% of households ONLY use cellphones - it's easy to forget that payphones are still an important part of many people's lives. 8.7 million American households still have no phone service at all. A payphone may be some peoples' only lifeline to communicate with others. In particular, payphones are a critical part of homeland security. They are there for those times that we can't anticipate, when our landlines and our cellphones aren't available, and so as we plan for the possibility of another disaster -- whether a terrorist attack, a hurricane, or pandemic flu -- we should not forget to consider payphones as part of our response.
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-265545A1.doc