| Name | U+I Italian payphone “Urbano + Interurbano” |
| Date | This model is from 1968-69 |
| Manufacturer | IPM (Industria Politecnica Meridionale) S.p.A for Italy’s national telephone operator, SIP (Società Italiana per l’Esercizio Telefonico). |
Above- wall mounted “Urbano + Interurbano”
Development of the U+I Italian payphone
The U+I was one of the most iconic public payphones used by Italy’s national telephone operator, SIP (Società Italiana per l’Esercizio Telefonico), from approximately 1968 until the early 1980s. It became closely associated with the golden age of Italian cinema, culuture and public telephony and was the standard telephone found in the familiar glass-and-metal SIP telephone booths that appeared throughout Italian cities, towns and villages in the 60s and 70s.
The name U+I “Urbano + Interurbano” referred to the fact that you could call long distance on them- the telephone’s charging system, which was designed to operate using Italy’s famous gettoni telefonici (telephone tokens) as well as coins. At a time when public telephones were becoming increasingly important for business, tourism and family communication, the U+I provided a reliable and standardised solution across the country.
The telephone featured a robust metal construction, a rotary dial in early versions, and later push-button variants as technology evolved. Designed to withstand constant public use and vandalism, it incorporated secure coin and token collection mechanisms and was connected to SIP’s expanding national network. Its distinctive appearance became a familiar feature of Italian streetscapes during the economic boom of the 1960s and 1970s.
The U+I represented the transition from the early electromechanical public telephones of the post-war era to more sophisticated electronic systems. By the early 1980s it began to be replaced by the newer G+M generation, which offered improved electronic charging and network capabilities. Nevertheless, the U+I remains one of the most recognisable symbols of Italy’s public telephone heritage and the era of the telephone token.
Above- “Urbano + Interurbano” with Gettoni machines
Below- enclosure with special thanks to the Museo Telefonia Pubblica (MTP). The enclosure is called the TO79 (Torino1979). Payphone- the prototype of the GM phone based on the U+I.
Leave a Reply