A new benchmark of Cullen International shows which countries of the Americas imposed an obligation to offer public payphones on telecoms operators and whether their removal is subject to any conditions imposed by regulation.

Only four of the 11 surveyed countries imposed an obligation to offer public payphones, in most cases as a licence condition:

• Brazil: on fixed telephony concession holders;
• Costa Rica: on the state-owned operator, ICE;
• Mexico: on the preponderant operator Telmex and the state-owned operator CFE-TEIT; and
• Peru: on Telefonica.

In Chile and the US, the installation of public payphones is not mandated, but it may be subsidised with public funds.

Conditions for phasing out payphones

The use of public payphones declined over time due to widespread mobile penetration.

However, only three of the 11 surveyed countries imposed conditions for phasing out payphones:

• Argentina: the regulator must approve the removal of public payphones subject to conditions that seek to maintain a minimum offer of public payphones;
• Brazil: phasing out is linked to the conversion of fixed concessions into individual licences by the end of 2025; and
• Canada: a notification requirement is imposed to protect the affected communities.

For more information and access to the full benchmark, please click on “Access the full content” - or on “Request Access”, in case you are not subscribed to our Americas Telecoms service.