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Nestled in a corner of a Bukit Purmei provision shop is a relic – an iconic orange payphone belonging to the 78-year-old shop owner, who wants to be known as Charlie.
Public Phone Singapore
The coin-operated payphone used to serve Charlie’s customers well. For 10 cents, they could make a two-minute call. This service also made some extra cash for Charlie.
But when mobile phones became more commonplace in the 2000s, Charlie decided to pull the plug on this service – but not because there was no demand for his payphone.
It just was not worth the trouble, he said.
When his customers dialled a mobile number, his payphone’s number would appear on the recipient’s mobile screen, making it possible for the recipient to call back.
As more customers were calling mobile numbers, his payphone rang and rang with a barrage of returned calls.
“I was like a telephone operator in my own shop for almost 10 years,” he said. “It was so irritating.”
Public Phone Singapore Location
While Charlie’s still-functioning payphone is no longer for public use, its presence is a reminder of how payphones used to be omnipresent here and in many parts of the world, before they were gradually eclipsed by mobile phones.
In Singapore, a country of some 5.6 million people, there are more than 9.8 million mobile subscriptions, according to the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA). As at June 2023, the mobile penetration rate here stood at 174.3 per cent.
Despite this, telcos like StarHub and Singtel continue to operate around 150 payphones near HDB blocks with one- and two-room flats.
A payphone at the foot of an HDB block in Telok Blangah Drive. PHOTO: VIHANYA RAKSHIKA
Payphone Singapore
StarHub said it is important to offer payphone service to the community, given that some elderly residents and those from lower-income households still need access to them.
Madam Saratha Somasundrum, who is in her 80s, is one resident who regularly makes calls using the StarHub payphone near her flat in Telok Blangah Drive – even though she owns a mobile phone.
“I find the bright light of the mobile screen straining to my eyes and I cannot understand English texts well,” she told The Straits Times, adding that she found it easier and faster to make a call using the payphone.
Some primary school pupils like 10-year-old Sameer Ibrahim are also payphone users.
His mother, Ms Shafiqah Mansoor, said a mobile phone is not a must-have for her young child, so if he wants to call home during recess, he can queue up to use the payphone in school.
LionCall Telecommunication also maintains payphones in places that are more frequently visited by migrant workers, such as Little India.
This iconic orange payphone was sold for $1,150 on Carousell. PHOTO: CAROUSELL
Public Phone Price
Make free local calls for up to 3 minutes, or at a small fee of 10 cents
Telcos said they are keeping payphones affordable as a community service. Singtel offers free local calls for up to three minutes. StarHub customers can make local calls at 10 cents per three-minute block. It is free to call emergency numbers such as 999, 995 and 1767 (SOS crisis support).
Charlie uses the orange payphone in his shop as his private landline now.
It also doubles up as his “piggy bank”. He quipped: “Every time I use the phone, I slot 10 cents into it. At the end of a month, I usually collect nearly $30.”
While payphones like his are collector’s items that can each fetch hundreds of dollars or more, Charlie said he is determined to keep his.
“In the past, my late mother used to call this phone to reach me,” he told ST.
“I will never sell this phone even if I can make a lot of money from it. It is one of a kind, very precious and filled with memories.”
This article was first published on The Straits Times.