The Coronavirus has laid bare what unequal technology access looks like in the United States. Conversely, the phone's consistency and richness offers college students a way to bridge the digital divide. The irony of returning to old technology like telephony is not lost on communication centers in 2020, yet if everyone is to access education equitably, the modification of a phone number to call helps tutors meet underrepresented student populations where they are. This essay will explore the demographics of telephone tutees in a writing center via a year-long study carried out by the author from 2018-2019 to understand why having a number to call helped a writing center reach specific populations (Nejezchleb, 2020). The essay will trace the academic needs of these populations for communication centers to help grapple with why the phone may mesh well for students at a distance, for those with busy work schedules, and for historically marginalized populations. At a distance, the phone or two-way audio session can instill traits similar to face-to-face tutoring and works similarly to the videoconference session but with benefits of its own. Finally, the author will offer training strategies to supplement existing tutoring formats with telephone services in writing and communication centers. The author argues why the phone should prompt educators to rethink their assumptions regarding what it means to be online, how learning should take place, and who has access.