Some helpful information for those new to the community.

[persia]

THe OP was actually thinking of Public Education...

Can't get much redder than that.  Government takes your money puts kids in schools based on their ages rather than abilities and teaches them that there are only certain answers to questions...

Ha ha!  Actually it is very, very much the opposite.  It's "Public" in that people donate to get what "they" want broadcast. Which usually is clean shows for children, sitcoms that are made for people that don't drool on themselves, etc.

Not "Public", as in Red as you suggest, where the government takes your money, then provides you with "Public TV" or something or requires you to pay.

Also, even more away from socialism by the fact that most funding for public TV actually comes from corporate donations.  There are some government agencies that donate (like the National Science Foundation) and funding also comes from viewers that donate money directly.

[persia]

Making calls is only a minor bit of their function, mostly it's an internet device that provides ready access to the internet, it has tools that work in a pinch, such as a torch, a radio and a calculator.  

But yeah, they also make calls...

I've never actually been "into" them in the way some folks are. To me, it's just a device for making calls. The first one I got was so the folks could keep in touch more easily with me when I was at university.