pay phone story

Payphone Story – Global History of Payphones and Phone Booths

South African PHONE BOOTH- ORANGE FIBREGLASS BUBBLE BOOTH (1975)

Introduced in 1975, South Africa’s orange fibreglass “bubble” booth exposed users to public view to reduce vandalism, coin theft and “long tickey” fraud. Similar to Brazil’s Orelhão and American open payphone hoods, it replaced enclosed kiosks with a cheaper, durable, weather-protective shell that became a national telecommunications icon.

Name	ORANGE FIBREGLASS BUBBLE BOOTH “Tickey box”
Date	1975. They were coloured orange to compliment the newly established Department of Posts & Telecommunications’ corporate image.
Manufacturer	Department of Posts and Telegraphs
Link	USA Benner Nawman BN800 Vanguard egg

The ORANGE FIBREGLASS BUBBLE BOOTH (1975)

By the early 1970s, unattended public telephones in South Africa were frequent targets for vandalism and theft. Coin boxes were forced open, foreign coins were used to obtain calls, and fraudsters employed the notorious “long tickey”—a coin or washer attached to a string that could be withdrawn after credit had been registered. Conventional enclosed telephone booths also concealed offenders from public view, making them an attractive target for vandalism.

The Department of Posts and Telecommunications responded by developing a radically different enclosure. After testing several prototypes, it adopted an open-fronted fibreglass shell that protected users from the weather while leaving them clearly visible from the street. Introduced nationally in April 1975, the new booths were mounted either on a steel pedestal or fixed directly to walls and finished in bright orange to match the Department’s new corporate identity. Their durable fibreglass construction reduced maintenance and quickly made them a familiar feature throughout South Africa.

The concept paralleled similar developments overseas. Brazil introduced its famous Orelhão (“Big Ear”) fibreglass booths in 1972, while the United States widely adopted open-shell fibreglass hoods during the 1970s and 1980s for outdoor payphones. Although differing in shape and detail, all three designs reflected the same international trend: replacing enclosed kiosks with highly visible, weather-protected structures that discouraged vandalism, reduced costs and improved public safety. Today, South Africa’s orange Bubble Booth remains one of the country’s most distinctive telecommunications icons.