pay phone story

Payphone Story – Global History of Payphones and Phone Booths

Polish Payphone- Ascom eXanto “yellow”

The Ascom eXanto, manufactured by Ascom Monétel in France, was an advanced analogue card payphone used internationally. Introduced in Poland in 2003, most were yellow and accepted chip cards, with rare coin-operated Combi versions. Featuring LCD displays, SMS/e-mail capability and remote supervision, they remained operational until September 2017.

Name	Ascom eXanto “yellow”
Date	c. 2000 – 2017
Manufacturer	manufactured by Ascom Monétel in France
Credit	For information and images on Polish payphones, special thanks to our friends at https://telesfor.org/ Special thanks to- https://sputnik.net.pl/telephona/ADMMXIV.html

Ascom eXanto “yellow”

The Ascom eXanto was one of the last major generations of European public payphones. Developed by Swiss telecommunications group Ascom, the eXanto was manufactured by Ascom Monétel SA at Guilherand-Granges, France. Ascom described it as a rugged, modular outdoor card telephone for conventional analogue PSTN networks, capable of operating between –25°C and 70°C. Versions were marketed internationally; documentary evidence confirms eXanto equipment in Poland and Russia, while Ascom’s international payphone organisation marketed the platform through regional operations in Europe, Asia and Mexico.

In Poland, Telekomunikacja Polska (TP, later Orange) introduced eXanto machines in late 2003. Early trial examples were white, but the familiar production machines were painted bright yellow; later Orange installations could appear orange. Less vandal-resistant indoor versions used plastic housings. Most Polish eXantos accepted chip telephone cards only, although the rare eXanto Combi added coin payment. Coin models were observed in 2004, despite TP not formally announcing their introduction until 2007; their separate coin boxes were serviced by another company.

Technically, the eXanto remained an analogue-line telephone but was considerably more sophisticated than earlier Polish cardphones. Its modular electronics comprised a motherboard, chip-card reader, keypad and graphic LCD. The standard display was 240×64 pixels, while options included larger backlit displays, magnetic-card readers and connections for PCs or fax equipment.

The PMS10 access system enabled value-added services including SMS and e-mail, with management through PMS150 locally and PMS300 centrally. Communications used V.22bis and V.23 modems. Poland had one nationwide supervision centre; surviving machines attempt to call 800-606-557 and, without it, report a fault. Despite their relatively small numbers, eXantos survived until September 2017, when TP/Orange finally ended Poland’s public payphone service.