Frontier Communications disconnected the last active payphones in Monroe County in January 2024, and the Federal Affordable Connectivity Program https://www.fcc.gov/acp ended June 1, 2024. These actions have only widened the gap for individuals to access essential communication. While national research suggests that over 95% of Americans own a cell phone, that does not reflect the experience across all Rochester neighborhoods. Valued service providers like our libraries, neighborhood centers, and food pantries can attest to the volume of people requesting to use their phones daily. Phone access contributes to meaningful social connections, which, in turn, helps people cope with daily challenges. 

OVERVIEW

The Good Phone Project is a public-service effort to provide free VoIP phone service and high-speed WiFi to Monroe County residents. For communities in need, the Good Phones are intended to serve as a lifeline for individuals forging their path from digital surviving toward digital thriving. For all communities, GoodPhone can provide a publicly accessible platform to ensure all individuals have the opportunity to connect to the people and the digital resources they need.

COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

The Good Phone Project repurposes payphones into free phones for all! The project is currently in its pilot phase working with select partners and gathering feedback to inform future success. This first phase of the project provides free VoIP phone service only. This includes customers setting up their own free voicemail box. Free high-speed WiFi service will be added at the conclusion of the pilot. New design modifications will be explored to support video call services in the months ahead. 

CULTURE, CONTEXT, COMMUNITY

Users can dial into each Good Phone to learn information pertinent to the specific location at which the Good Phone is installed. This feature enables voices from the community to share stories, a business to share information about their services, a gallery to share details about their current exhibition, and more. This community-focused feature is intended to be as fluid as it is engaging, making each GoodPhone its own information-sharing hub within the community.

In some communities, Good Phone housings will also be decorated by members of that community through events facilitated by the extended GoodPhone team. 

PROJECT TEAM

This project started with photographer Eric Kunsman's Felicific Calculus project that chronicled the 1,455 payphones left in Monroe County. Eric pulled in digital scholarship librarian Rebekah Walker to build interactive visuals like maps that contextualize the photographs, and Dr. Janelle Duda-Banwar joined the team as a community-focused social science researcher. The next phase of the project pulled in project consultant Michael Riordan to strategically guide the team in meeting the GoodPhone project objectives. 

PARTNERS

Littlejohn Communications

Father Tracy Advocacy Center, https://www.fathertracycenter.org/  

RIT/NTID  www.rit.edu/ntid/ 

Macy and George Krout, Hughes Telecom

The South East Area Coalition (SEAC) serves as our fiscal sponsor, https://seacrochester.org/ 

PROJECT SUPPORT NEEDED

Monetary donations

Donations of payphones, parts, and installation materials

Volunteers to help install and maintain GoodPhones