There's a new reason to hate cell phones.

Not that you needed one, but New Yorkers' increasing reliance on their
 electronic security blankets has claimed another victim: the 25-cent
 phone call.

Like some bad instant-coffee commercial, Verizon has replaced the fine,
 25-cent phone calls it used to offer with a new, 50-cent version.
 Apparently, cell phones have so severely cut into the pay-phone
 business that something had to give.

And that something is you and me.

"Pay phones can't generate enough revenue anymore," said Paul
 Francischetti, a Verizon veep, adding that pay phone use was
 consistent until 1998, when cell-phone companies introduced flat-rates
 and "free" minutes. Since then, pay phone use is down more than 25
 percent.

So Verizon has doubled its prices. At first, it didn't sound so bad:
 Where a quarter once bought you a mere three-minutes of talk time, 50
 cents now gets you an unlimited call anywhere within the five boroughs.

Unlimited? "You can talk for 24 minutes, 24 hours or 24 days," said Verizon
 spokesman John Bonomo, in just a tone that sounded like a dare (I didn't talk for
 24 days, but I did pull up a chair at a pay phone -- it was a nice day and I had
 nothing else to do -- and spoke to a friend for 70 minutes).

That's nice in theory, but who (other than those cell-phone users who chatter
 incessantly about nothing) wants to talk for 70 minutes, let alone seven? Pay
 phones are for the quick exchange of information -- "I'm downstairs and I forgot my
 keys"; "What's the Met score?" -- not for taking maximum advantage of your flat
 rate.

"People treat their cell phone like it's their companion," said Dennis Novick,
 president of TCC Teleplex, which has 1,500 city pay phones. "They use up their
 'free' minutes out of boredom. When people use a pay phone, it's a specific call,
 like 'I'm catching the six-12.' Pay phones are important."

Novick said the average pay phone call is less than two minutes. And 50 cents is a
 lot to waste if you get someone's machine.

You might be inclined to cut Verizon some slack -- until you remember that Verizon
 is one of the biggest cell-phone carriers. This company's left hand and right hand
 are quite familiar with each other. Unlike Novick, who is keeping his fees at 25
 cents, Verizon has an interest in driving customers from pay phones to cell
 phones."

So boycott this new tax on cell-phone abstainers. And if you've got talkative
 teenagers who are always tying up your phone, slip them two quarters, point them to
 the nearest Verizon phone, and let them talk all they want.

That'll teach Verizon.

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