Northwestel has 86 payphones in Yellowknife and 158 in Whitehorse, according to a company spokesperson. (Donna Lee/CBC)

Northerners needing to use a payphone should bring an extra quarter come Tuesday, when Northwestel will double payphone rates across Canada's North.

The northern phone company has received approval from the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission to raise the cost of local payphone calls from 25 cents to 50 cents.

The last time payphone rates went up was in November 1985, when Northwestel boosted the price from 10 cents to 25 cents.

Northwestel spokeswoman Anne Kennedy told CBC News that the latest price increase is "keeping, really, with the costs of providing the service."

Kennedy said the costs "have increased in the last 25 years, but the rates that we charge for payphones have not."

The popularity of cellphones has led to a decline in payphone use, meaning less revenue, Kennedy added.

Still, Northwestel does not plan to stop offering payphones altogether.

Kennedy said payphones provide a necessary service to people who don't have cellphones. Payphones are also there for emergencies and as a convenience to businesses, she added.

Phone companies in other parts of Canada have already raised the cost of using payphones to 50 cents a call. Bell Canada and MTS did so in 2007, while SaskTel followed suit in 2008.