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Payphone Story – illustrated international encyclopaedia of payphones

Swedish Payphone- Telia Schlumberger Access 110

The Schlumberger Access 110 was a French-made smart-card payphone used by Sweden’s Telia from the 1990s. Its display, multilingual controls and simple pictograms guided callers through inserting a prepaid card and dialling. Installed in traditional and modern kiosks, its rugged electronic design replaced earlier coin-operated equipment while reducing cash-handling requirements.

Name	Telia Schlumberger Access 110
Date	1990s
Manufacturer	Schlumberger, France
Links	Schlumberger Access 110 as used in France Schlumberger Access 110 as used in Ireland Schlumberger Access 110 used in Mexico

Telia Schlumberger Access 110

The Schlumberger Access 110 was an electronic cardphone used by Telia in Sweden from the 1990s into the early 2000s. Manufactured in France by Schlumberger, it belonged to an internationally successful family of smart-card payphones also supplied to operators including France Télécom, Telecom Éireann and Telmex in Mexico. Its use in several networks illustrates the standardisation of European public-telephone equipment during the 1990s.

The Swedish version accepted prepaid Telia telephone cards through the prominent reader below the keypad. A small liquid-crystal display showed instructions, credit and call information, while pictograms explained the basic operating sequence without relying heavily on written language. Additional buttons allowed users to select card replacement or language options. The substantial metal casing, reinforced handset cord and recessed card mechanism were designed to resist vandalism and intensive public use.

Earlier Swedish examples carried a pale turquoise faceplate, while later Telia-branded sets used the company’s red panel and grey cabinet. The Access 110 appeared in indoor locations, roadside shelters and several generations of Swedish kiosk—including surviving historic “Rikstelefon” structures. It represented the transition from mechanical coin collection to electronically controlled prepaid cards, reducing the need to collect cash while allowing tariffs and remaining credit to be calculated automatically. (Irish Callcards)