The End Of Pay Phones For AT&T

It's the end of an era. AT&T recently announced that they are exiting the pay phone business by the end of 2008.

The company cited declining use of the phones as personal communication devices like cell phones became more prevalent.

"This is the right time for us to take this step on behalf of our customers, employees and stockholders," said David Huntley, senior vice president for Customer Information Services. "We expect that independent providers will pick up much of this business, and, as we exit the business, we will be able to refocus our resources to areas that offer stronger growth potential and greater opportunity for the company."

Overall availability of pay phones has been on the decline since 1998. There were an estimated 2.6 million of them, compared to an estimated 1 million today.