| Name | Grey digital public telephone |
| Date | 1991- present |
| Manufacturer | Tamura Electric Works and others for NTT |
Development of the Grey digital public telephone
| Introduced by NTT in 1991, the light grey digital public telephone became one of the most recognisable Japanese payphones of the late twentieth century. The model was developed as an advanced successor to the earlier green digital phones introduced in 1990, combining modern ISDN communication capability with a softer, more refined industrial design. The photographs show several variations of the series installed in railway stations, shopping centres and enclosed public booths across Japan. Manufactured by companies including Tamura Electric, Anritsu and Hitachi, the grey telephones featured a large LCD display, magnetic telephone card readers, coin slots for 10 and 100 yen coins, and programmable function buttons beneath the screen. Unlike earlier public telephones, these machines could support data communication for fax machines and laptop computers through ISDN lines. The improved versions introduced voice prompts announcing remaining phone card credit, larger information screens, memory dial functions and adjustable receiver volume controls. Different versions appeared through the 1990s and 2000s. Some included emergency call buttons for police and fire services, while others omitted the red emergency button entirely, as seen in several examples. Certain units were optimised for international calling areas in airports and stations, while accessible models were adapted for wheelchair users. Together with the familiar green public telephones, the grey digital phones became a defining element of modern Japanese streetscapes and transport architecture. |
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