pay phone story

Payphone Story – Global History of Payphones and Phone Booths

Irish Phonebooth- New Public Payphone Kiosk 1998

Introduced by Telecom Éireann in 1998, the New Public Payphone Kiosk was designed and manufactured by GKN in Britain. Featuring a distinctive sloping roof, improved lighting and visibility, it was rolled out nationally under Eircom, commonly housing Trilogy coin-and-card payphones. It became Ireland’s final major generation of enclosed telephone kiosk.

Name	Telecom Éireann New Public Payphone Kiosk
Date	C. 1998
Manufacturer	designed and manufactured by GKN in Britain for Telecom Éireann. This box share much with the KX kiosks in the UK.

Development of the New Public Payphone Kiosk – 1998

The New Public Payphone Kiosk, usually known simply as the “New Kiosk,” represented the final major generation of conventional enclosed telephone boxes introduced to Ireland. It was commissioned by Telecom Éireann as a modern replacement for its ageing kiosk stock and was first installed and trialled in 1998. Telecom Éireann promoted the design with the New Kiosk Callcard, issued in 1998 in an edition of 20,000.

Significantly, the kiosk was designed and manufactured by GKN in Britain. GKN had manufactured BT’s KX range and, as that programme approached its end, developed kiosks for other telecommunications operators. Its documentation specifically records being commissioned to design and build the “New Public Payphone Kiosk” for Telecom Éireann.

The Irish kiosk consequently shared some characteristics with GKN’s KX+, including elements of its base frame, window proportions and door hardware. It was nevertheless a distinctly Irish design. Its most recognisable feature was the wedge-shaped/sloping roof, deliberately referencing earlier Irish telephone kiosks, together with a different door frame and Telecom Éireann branding.

The design offered improved lighting, better visibility into and out of the kiosk, improved information displays and a convenient internal shelf. It was also larger, brighter and more open than many of the kiosks it replaced.

The initial Telecom Éireann version had an unusually short life in its original branding. Telecom Éireann became Eircom in 1999, and the kiosks were subsequently fitted with Eircom identification. A wider rollout occurred approximately 1999–2001, replacing many earlier kiosks throughout towns and cities.

The New Kiosk was closely associated with the Landis & Gyr/IPM Trilogy payphone, which combined coin and Callcard payment in one machine.

Ironically, this sophisticated new kiosk arrived just as mobile phones began destroying the public-payphone market. Ireland had around 8,000 public payphones in 1997, but usage subsequently collapsed. The New Kiosk therefore became both the culmination of Ireland’s traditional public telephone-box development and its final major generation.