| Name | TELKOM PHONE BOOTHS (c.1995–2005) Last generation |
| Date | 1995 |
| Manufacturer | Telkom |
The final generation of South African public telephone booths
The final generation of South African public telephone booths represented the culmination of almost a century of local payphone development. Introduced during the mid-1990s, these distinctive blue and green booths became an instantly recognisable feature of streets, shopping centres, transport interchanges and remote rural communities. Designed to house Telkom’s advanced electronic coinphones and cardphones, they combined a durable galvanised steel frame with toughened glass or polycarbonate panels, providing excellent weather protection while remaining highly resistant to vandalism. The open-fronted design improved accessibility and reduced maintenance costs.
The booths accommodated sophisticated locally developed telephones such as the TSA-4, Rotor, Ascom eXANTO and later Amper models, many capable of accepting both coins and prepaid smart cards. Clear bilingual signage identified coin and card telephones, while improved displays, electronic call guidance and remote monitoring reflected South Africa’s growing telecommunications capability. Many installations were powered by digital exchanges and formed part of one of Africa’s largest public telephone networks.
These booths served communities from the centres of Johannesburg and Cape Town to isolated settlements in the Karoo, Kalahari and Namibia, often providing the only reliable public communication for hundreds of kilometres. By the late 2000s, however, the rapid expansion of mobile phones led to their decline. Most have now been removed or scrapped.
Leave a Reply