The costs are offset by the fact of the boxes providing free advertising for Telstra. That's the main reason they keep them operational.
reply> A ton of calls go to emergency services, government services, etc.
replyIs it common for providers to charge for emergency service access? I thought this was a given.
I believe emergency services calls are free. The cost being talked about is the maintenance cost to the provider.
replyMy voip line has a charge for (e)911. I can pay $1.50 per month or $75 per call.
replySince my local police department has no direct dial number, non-emergency calls are routed through 911; that's pretty unusual, but I don't want to pay $75 to call police non-emergency, so I pay the $1.50.
I've never seen emergency calling broken out on my bill from an ILEC though.