OTTAWA — With the use of payphones plummeting, the country’s telecom regulator is proposing a series of measures that companies would have to follow when they tear out the last public phone in a community.

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission wants phone companies to notify affected communities — including municipalities and First Nations — before removing the last public telephone.

It says people living in rural and urban communities would have the opportunity to give their opinions to local authorities regarding the removal of certain payphones.

The commission imposed a moratorium in 2013 on eliminating payphone service in communities.

It’s now asking for public comment on its proposals.

The CRTC conducted a study in which only 32 per cent of respondents reported using a payphone at least once in the last year, compared with 50 per cent who reported occasional use of the phones in 2004.

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