| Name | Telos AW-6 |
| Date | 1990 – 2000 |
| Manufacturer | Telos of Kraków |
| Credit | For information and images on Polish payphones, special thanks to our friends at https://telesfor.org/ |
Telos AW-6 Polish Payphone
The Telos AWS-6 was a new generation of Polish payphone introduced in the early 1990s. Although never quite as iconic as the AW-7, it became a familiar sight on Polish streets and remained in service into the early 2000s.
The AWS-6 represented a significant technological advance. Its rotary dial was replaced by a push-button keypad, although signalling to the telephone exchange still used pulse dialling. Calls operated over an ordinary two-wire telephone line, while charges were calculated using 16 kHz “teletax” metering pulses transmitted from the exchange.
Remarkably, the AWS-6 contained no microprocessor. Instead, its relatively sophisticated control system relied on LSI logic circuitry to recognise different telephone tokens and manage payment. Initially it accepted A, B and C tokens, representing one, five and ten charging units respectively. The B token was soon withdrawn because it closely resembled an old Polish 2 złoty coin, which machines could mistakenly accept.
Unlike many earlier Polish payphones, the AWS-6 incorporated a conventional RWT mechanical bell, allowing it to receive incoming calls as well as make them.
The AWS-6 remained in widespread use throughout the 1990s. Its decline followed the abandonment of Poland’s telephone-token system at the end of 2000, with most examples disappearing from public service during 2001.
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