Vermont Engineer Restores Pay Phones to Offer Free Calls in Areas with Limited Cell Service

TUNBRIDGE, Vt. – An electrical engineer, Patrick Schlott, has a knack for exploring both modern and older technologies. However, it was only after settling in rural Vermont that he discovered his skill in refurbishing old pay phones could offer a valuable service to the community.

“I understood that there was a significant lack of cell service for about 10 miles (16 kilometers) in either direction,” he noted. “This community would definitely benefit from something like this.”

Working as a full-time engineer at BETA Technologies, an electric airplane manufacturing firm, Schlott saw an opportunity. He presented the concept of placing refurbished pay phones throughout the town for free public use to the owners of the local general store. With the assurance that it wouldn’t incur any expenses for them, North Tunbridge General Store proprietors Mike and Lois Gross agreed to let Schlott set up the first phone outside their store.

“Everyone’s pretty surprised, and they’re like, ‘Is that a real payphone? Does that really work?’ And I’m like, ‘Yeah, but it doesn’t cost any money now,’” said store owner Mike Gross. “We’ve had people use it that broke down. It’s a great thing because service is so spotty in Vermont.”

The first free public phone installation was Schlott’s idea, but he says the two other locations, the Latham Library in Thetford and inside an informational booth in Randolph off Interstate 89, came from community members requesting the service.

“All the other phones so far have been people reaching out, which is pretty cool,” he said.

Schlott buys the old pay phones, which can range in cost from $100-$500, at flea markets, from internet listings or at auction and fixes them up in his basement workshop. All that’s needed to install one of his phones is an internet connection — no coins necessary.

“Basically, there’s a small piece of equipment that converts an internet telephone line to an analog line that these phones can operate off of,” he said.

Along with covering the costs, which are about $2-$3 a month for each phone line and less than $5 a month for calls, Schlott acts as the operator for each phone and can field or transfer calls, helping users when needed. If a user dials zero, the phone will ring Schlott’s personal cellphone, though he uses an app to keep his number private.

So far, the phone at the Latham Library location has seen the most use. According to Schlott, 370 calls have been made since the phone was installed five months ago, filling a need for students without cellphones to call their parents for after-school pickups.

Hannah McClain is a regular at the North Tunbridge General Store and says she finds comfort in knowing the phone is there whenever her 16-year-old daughters might need it.

“It does make me feel safer if the kids are out and about, that if they had an emergency up this way that they could stop and use this. I think these are a great service,” she said.

Schlott is seeing increased interest in the service, with another free phone install in the works at the Brownell Library in Essex. For now, he plans to continue covering the costs associated with each phone, but noted that may change as the project scales.

“It’s cool to see something retro that has that old-school appeal but also works. To actually hear it ring, to pick it up and have a dial tone, I think there’s real power in that,” he said. “And I don’t think they should end up in a landfill. They should be recycled and put to good use.”