| Name | “Trilogy” Coin and Cardphone |
| Date | C. 1995 |
| Manufacturer | IPM Group (Landis & Gyr) |
Development of the IPM Group “Trilogy” Coin and Cardphone
The IPM Group Trilogy was a combined coin and card payphone introduced throughout Ireland in the late 1990s, coinciding with the transformation of Telecom Éireann into Eircom in 1999. Although IPM Group later acquired the Landis & Gyr Communications business in 2001, the Trilogy units installed during the initial Eircom rollout appear to have been supplied under Landis & Gyr branding. During the early 2000s, they replaced large numbers of the earlier Schlumberger Access 110 cardphones and Landis & Gyr Comet coinphones.
The Trilogy represented an important change in Irish public telephony because a single telephone could accept both coins and chip-based Callcards. Previously, Eircom often provided separate coin and card telephones. Combining the two systems became particularly useful as mobile-phone ownership increased and Callcard sales began declining.
The Trilogy was also associated with Eircom’s new generation of modern telephone kiosks and open-fronted street booths, replacing many older Telecom Éireann installations. Its blue handset and keypad complemented Eircom’s new blue-and-orange corporate identity.
One notable weakness was its coin mechanism. Coins reportedly became jammed relatively frequently in early installations. Many surviving machines were consequently modified with an external coin-return/dispenser assembly, making this attachment a distinctive feature of later Trilogy installations.
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