I find it hard to imagine that pay phones have made much money recently, so I was not surprised to learn today that AT&T is leaving the pay phone business.
Granted, once installed, pay phones can simply operate, don't require much maintenance, and generate revenue. However, they do cost money to run power to, and do require maintenance when vandalized.
In today's germophobic and cell phone savvy society, who would use a pay phone? That's a good question, but a better one is whether or not the pay phone will live on without AT&T's support.