Looking for something unique to do this reading break? Why not challenge yourself to find as many of the 350-odd payphones remaining in Metro Vancouver! Much like the dodos, the payphone used to be a common sight but are becoming increasingly rare.
User-Run Payphone Map of Metro Vancouver:
https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/viewer?mid=1AO00qfKM-Bb4gI_ZLOfsEFjzZvFzxQ-O&ll=49.25050126061677%2C-123.06818579212995&z=13
Background Article:
https://thetyee.ca/Culture/2019/07/16/Vancouver-Last-Payphones-Phone-Booths/
Before we continue however, a bit of background is required. Payphone operation is regulated by the CRTC as part of Canada’s telecommunications network. In Telecom Decision 98-8, released in 1998, the CRTC ordered that the major players, Telus and Bell, pay tariffs on the service and essentially allow smaller competitors to make footholds in the market. In a 2016 study, the CRTC found that payphone use and availability was declining, but was still an important service for Canadians, especially those in vulnerable economic situations.
The CRTC changed their tune in 2018 however in Telecom Decision 2018-133. Bell and Telus challenged the “essentiality” of their payphone services as it was costing them money without providing much revenue, and could not increase the rates paid by users. The “essentiality test” requires the satisfying of three components: input, competition, and duplicability. After applying the test, the CRTC then considered several policy factors to inform their final decision as to the mandating the provision of a wholesale service; these factors include the public good, interconnection, and innovation and investment.
Payphones failed to meet the essentiality test on two of the three grounds: they were not required for more downstream services (input) and were not affecting competition between providers (competition), but were not easily duplicated by competitors (duplicability). The public good would not be affected as no communities had their last payphone removed and usage was very low. This view was in contradiction to the view they took in their 2015 in their report on payphone usage. In conclusion, the CRTC gave Bell and Telus a 1-year period to phase out their current business model, which is likely to result in further removals.
The Decision:
https://crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/2018/2018-133.htm
The 2015 Report:
https://crtc.gc.ca/eng/publications/reports/rp150226a.htm
While this was certainly good news for the telecom companies, it was certainly less so for many of Vancouver’s economically disadvantaged. Low income individuals were the population group most likely to use payphones as mobile phones are expensive to operate and are easily stolen or lost; without some way to be contact their service workers, however, they run a very real risk of “falling through the cracks” in their development programs. Without payphones, many will have to turn to other programs such as the community voicemail service run by the Lu’ma Native Housing Society.
The Community Voicemail Service:
http://lnhs.ca/community-voice-mail/
Does removing payphones make fiscal sense? Or are we also removing a lifeline for our community’s most needy? Let’s discuss below!