So I work on a military base in south Georgia and there are several old, out-of-service AT&T/ bellsouth payphones around. Any tips on how I could go about acquiring one? I figure I probably need something from the phone company stating that they no longer want it, and then get permission from the base (I'd be doing them a favor, for sure). I know AT&T "sold off" their payphone business, so is there another company in the area that would have claim to them?
Bell south got out of the payphone biz years ago, most likely abandoned in place. And because it's on a federal government base. They left it up to the government to take them out
But ask the base comander for one, check for dial tone, and power for the light. Then you would need to get a special bit to remove the panel to gain access to the base bolts, power and Telco lines. That is the easy part. Finding a key to open the set up to remove it from the pedestal.
Bellsouth stopped maintaining payphones in 2001 and around here most were just taken out. Some at the post offices were left in place and sold to a local company. The problem is no one wants to officially give permission. unofficially I have found private business owners glad to see them disappear.