Vermont engineer revives pay phones for free calls in areas with poor cell service

TUNBRIDGE, Vermont: An electrical engineer by trade, Patrick Schlott has spent countless hours tinkering with new and old technology. But it wasn’t until he found himself living in rural Vermont that he realized his penchant for repairing old pay phones could provide a public service.

“I realized, wow, there’s no cell service for 10 miles (16 kilometers) in either direction,” he said. “The community could really benefit from something like this.”