AUGUSTA – The once ubiquitous pay phone might make a return in Maine, but with a twist – free calls.

On Thursday, the Maine Public Utilities Commission will hold a public hearing on a rule change that would allow it to direct phone companies to install coinless phones around the state.

Supporters of the plan say that with the rise in cell phone use, telephone companies have eliminated many public pay phones, particularly in rural areas. The profitability of the phones has dropped, and it was costly for telephone companies to maintain and repair them.

But for those without cell phones, or those who happen to find themselves in an area without good cell service, public phones are essential for emergency and other calls.

The rule-change authority came through a bill adopted in last year’s legislative session. The bill was sponsored by Rep. Herb Adams, D-Portland.

State Public Advocate Stephen Ward said the idea came to Adams through residents of Cliff Island in Casco Bay, where the last pay phone had been removed. With poor cell service on the island, people arriving from the ferry were unable to make calls to friends on the island.

Though it is in part a convenience issue, the inability to make a call also can be a matter of public safety, Ward said.

The rule, if adopted, would allow municipal officials and the general public to request what are being called public interest pay phones for certain locations. Those locations might include bus stations, airports, highway rest areas, courthouses, lobbies of post offices, hospitals and medical clinics.

The phones would allow free calls anywhere in the state. Calls outside of Maine could be made using a calling card, credit card, prepaid calling card, or by making a collect call.

Ward said welfare directors from municipalities around the state are among those supporting the free phone plan.

“If you’re living paycheck to paycheck, or welfare check to welfare check, it’s hard to keep a phone,” he said.

Those providing medical services to low-income clients also hail the idea, Ward said, because many clients without home phones fail to make necessary appointments or follow up on visits.

Domestic abuse agencies also support the plan, as do rape counseling agencies.

Elizabeth Ward Saxl, executive director of the Maine Coalition Against Sexual Assault, which oversees 10 sexual assault centers around the state, will advocate for the free phones.

“We have a concern that the sort of traditional route of getting assistance is not around as much as it used to be,” she said.

In particular, so-called date rape victims might rely on pay phones to quickly call police, Ward Saxl said.

Phone companies will pay for the purchase of equipment and installation of public interest phones from a state universal user fund. Up to $50,000 can be tapped to cover the cost of providing the phone service.

PUC officials acknowledge that the free phones might be abused; those living nearby might discontinue their residential service and make local calls on the free phones. Signs will be affixed to the phones stating that users should limit themselves to five minutes, if others are waiting to use the phone.

Ward said the state’s 16 telephone companies “took a dim view of this at the Legislature, and it is my understanding they still take a dim view of it.”

Ward is urging people to attend the hearing on the rule to speak in support of it.

The hearing begins at 9:30 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 9, at the PUC office on State Street in Augusta, just south of the State House. Call 287-2445 for information. Written comments may be sent to: PUC, attn: Administration Director, 18 State House Station, Augusta ME 04333-0018.