Some recent state laws protect public phones in towns that do not receive mobile phone services. One such law in New Hampshire protected a pay phone operated by Verizon, which tried to remove the phone in 2000. The laws stem from the 1996 Telecommunications Act, which allows states to protect phones for the public interest. The FCC says there were nearly 2 million pay phones nationwide in 1997 and only 1.3 million operating last year. Article