Why Payphones Still Exist

Phonebooth

Krystal D'Costa ponders them:

[I]t's estimated that public phones generate $62 million in advertising, of which the city gets about a third. Think about itfor the cost of a billboard in Times Square, an advertiser could cover the city with her message via phone booth and kiosks. But this doesn't mean that working phones are located where people most need them. Advertisers want their messages in highly visible, high traffic areas, which doesn't necessarily include some lower income neighborhoods. Is this another element in the technology divide?

(Photo: Benoit Deseille and artist Benedetto Bufalino transformed a phone booth in Lyon, France, into an aquarium, as part of the city's annual Festival of Light.)

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