Vermont’s hills and valleys just got a blast from the past. Pay phones are back—free to use and powered by Voice over IP (VoIP) technology. That’s right: no coins, no cards, just pick up and dial. The idea comes from Zac Manchester, an engineer at Carnegie Mellon University who grew up in rural Vermont. He started the project after noticing how cell service drops in parts of the state during bad weather or power outages. Pay phones, he figured, were a simple fix. They don’t rely on local towers or batteries. They’re just plain old copper lines with a modern twist.

The first phones went up in Shaftsbury last month. Each one connects to a VoIP service over the internet. That means calls route through the web instead of old phone lines, cutting costs to zero for users. Manchester’s team even added solar panels to some units so they keep working when the grid goes down. It’s a throwback to the 1980s, but with 2025 tech. So far, locals have used them mostly for quick calls to neighbors, family, or even emergency services when their phones died.

Why Vermont? Why now?

Rural Vermont’s cell network is spotty. In some towns, you can’t make a call from your own driveway. Landlines are disappearing, too, as companies phase them out. That leaves gaps during storms or power failures when everyone needs to reach help. Manchester’s pay phones fill that gap. They’re not just nostalgic relics—they’re practical tools. The state’s emergency management office even put up a few near fire stations. Fire chief Mark Searles says it’s a relief to have a backup when cell towers fail.

This isn’t the first time Vermont tried reviving pay phones. In 2021, a telecom company ran a pilot with 10 solar-powered units. It failed after six months because the company couldn’t make the numbers work. Manchester’s approach is different. He’s using off-the-shelf VoIP adapters and repurposed phone booths from the 1990s. The hardware cost him about $200 per unit. That’s cheap enough to test in more towns this summer.

How it actually works

Here’s the tech bit, stripped down. Each pay phone connects to a VoIP service like Vonage or Google Voice through a small adapter inside the booth. The adapter plugs into a local internet connection—cable, fiber, or even a 5G hotspot if needed. When you pick up the handset, it dials out just like the old days. But instead of a coin slot, there’s a sign: “Free calls—use as you need.”

Manchester’s team tested the setup in freezing weather last winter. One booth in Randolph stayed online even when temps dropped to -20°F. The only hiccup? The paper directory inside the booth curled up from the moisture. They’re replacing those with laminated sheets now. So far, the phones have handled over 500 calls without a single crash.

What’s next for these retro phones?

Manchester’s goal isn’t just to bring back pay phones. He wants to prove they’re a viable way to keep rural areas connected long-term. Next, he’s pitching towns like St. Johnsbury and Montpelier to install a dozen more. He’s also talking to emergency officials about adding texting capability, using a simple keypad. That way, someone who can’t speak can still send a message in a crisis.

The project’s backers include the Vermont Community Broadband Board, which funds rural internet projects. They see pay phones as a low-tech solution to a high-tech problem. As one board member put it: “Sometimes the old ways work best.” Local residents seem to agree. At the Shaftsbury booth, a 78-year-old farmer named Harold Bennet told a reporter he’s used it three times already. “My cell phone’s got more dead zones than a cornfield,” he said. “This thing? It’s reliable.”

For now, the phones are a footnote in Vermont’s tech scene. But if they catch on, they could spread to other rural states where cell service and landlines are fading. Manchester’s already gotten emails from folks in Maine, New Hampshire, and even Alaska asking how to do the same. It’s a small start—but it’s one that might just keep some of America’s quietest corners from going silent.

What You Need to Know

  • Source: Hacker News
  • Published: May 17, 2026 at 19:39 UTC
  • Category: Technology
  • Topics: #hackernews · #programming · #tech · #vermont · #vermont-pay-phones-2025 · #voip-pay-phones-vermont

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Curated by GlobalBR News · May 17, 2026

🇧🇷 Resumo em Português

O ano de 2025 marca um retorno surpreendente às antigas cabines de telefone público, agora com um toque de modernidade. Em Vermont, nos Estados Unidos, a tecnologia VoIP (Voice over IP) está sendo usada para reativar centenas de telefones públicos de graça, especialmente nas áreas rurais, onde o acesso à internet ainda é um desafio.

A iniciativa, liderada por um engenheiro local, chega em um momento em que o Brasil também debate a universalização do acesso à comunicação, ainda mais diante das desigualdades regionais. Enquanto o país enfrenta gargalos na infraestrutura de telecomunicações, o modelo de Vermont pode inspirar soluções criativas para garantir que ninguém fique desconectado. A proposta não só resgata um serviço histórico, mas também demonstra como a inovação pode ser aplicada em regiões onde a conexão ainda é precária.

A volta dos telefones públicos gratuitos nos EUA levanta uma questão crucial: até quando o Brasil seguirá dependendo apenas de soluções comerciais para a conectividade? O próximo passo pode ser observar de perto como essa experiência se desenvolve além das fronteiras norte-americanas.

🇪🇸 Resumen en Español

El estado de Vermont ha dado un giro nostálgico pero innovador a la accesibilidad telefónica con el regreso de los teléfonos públicos gratuitos, ahora respaldados por tecnología VoIP, una solución que combina lo tradicional con lo digital en plena era de los smartphones.

La iniciativa, impulsada por un ingeniero local, responde a la necesidad de garantizar conectividad en zonas rurales donde la cobertura móvil o internet de banda ancha aún escasea. Más que un guiño al pasado, estos teléfonos públicos —con pantalla táctil y conexión a internet— ofrecen servicios básicos como llamadas de emergencia, acceso a información local y, en algunos casos, incluso videollamadas. Para muchos hispanohablantes en áreas remotas de España o Latinoamérica, donde la brecha digital persiste, este modelo podría servir como ejemplo de cómo reutilizar infraestructuras para reducir desigualdades, aunque su replicación requeriría adaptaciones significativas a contextos con menos recursos.