Pay phone calls
to cost 35 cents

GTE says lower revenues
and higher costs are causing this
first increase since 1986

By Craig Gima
Star-Bulletin

Unlike long-distance and interisland phone rates, increased competition in the pay phone business has not brought lower prices.

Beginning Thursday, GTE Hawaiian Tel will raise the price of a pay phone call by a dime to 35 cents.

It's the first pay phone price increase since 1986, when the cost of a call went from 15 cents to 25 cents.

"Part of the reason why we're looking to change the rate is that pay phones now face competition from all the other telecommunications options," said Keith Kamisugi, a spokesman for GTE Hawaiian Tel.

"Now pay phone service competes against all those other options."

More people using cellular phones, in addition to other companies providing pay phone services, means GTE has less revenue from pay phones while costs have been going up, Kamisugi said.

The Telecommunications Act of 1996 that deregulated the pay phone business also stipulated service had to be self-sustaining and could not be supported by subsidies from other phone services, like long distance.

"After 12 years of keeping the rate level, we have to make this increase in order to meet our current costs," said Joel Matsunaga, GTE Hawaiian Tel vice president for external affairs.

It will take a month to change all of GTE's pay phones for the new rate.

Whatever the reason for the increase, pay phone users near Longs Drug Store at Ala Moana Center didn't like it.

"I don't appreciate it because its easier carrying a quarter than 35 cents," said Judy Mounthongdy, who said she is a frequent user of pay phones.

"I can't afford a cell phone. I'm a student," she said.

"I saw that (35-cent pay phones) in Vegas. I thought it was a rip-off by the casinos," said Donaldo Soviero. But later he said he found out all the pay phones in Nevada cost 35 cents.

"Are they (the phone companies) really that broke that they can justify that increase?" he asked.

For Louise Ingebrethsen, who remembers when pay phone calls cost 10 cents, the rate increase is not as irritating as waiting to use the phone.

"I think they should charge by the minute because that way people won't monopolize the phone," she said. "People will just be using it for a couple of minutes and then they'll just be off of it."

Kamisugi said the pay phone increase has nothing to do with the rates for residential and business phone usage.

He said after Hawaii raises its rates, only Oregon and Ohio will still have 25-cent pay phones in the areas GTE serves.

How much, where New price: 35 cents a call on GTE pay phones. GTE says some other pay phone companies in Hawaii already charge 35 cents. Free calls: Emergencies (911), local directory assistance (1-411), repair (611) and toll-free calls (1-800, 1-888, or 1-877). Sites: GTE has 7,700 pay phones statewide. Other companies have 700.