pay phone story

Name	Telepunkt Mønttelefon —
Date	Denmark, c.1980s–90s
Manufacturer	Landis & Gyr

Landis & Gyr Telepunkt Mønttelefon — Denmark, c.1980s–90s

This Danish Landis & Gyr Telepunkt was a portable, semi-public coin telephone intended for supervised indoor locations such as waiting rooms, institutions, offices, hotels and workshops. Unlike heavily armoured street payphones, it resembles a conventional desk telephone but incorporates an electronic charging system, display, coin slot and lockable cash drawer. Danish instructions guide the user through lifting the receiver, entering the number, awaiting an answer, inserting coins and beginning another call. Buttons provide new call, repeat call, abbreviated-number and time functions. This example was formerly operated by Deltacom Electronics of Lemvig.

Landis & Gyr was founded in Zug, Switzerland, in 1896 and became internationally famous for precision electricity meters and control equipment. Its experience in metering, tariffs and secure payment technology made telecommunications a natural additional field. The company’s communications division became a major international producer of electronic coin and card payphones, including the Comet, Pegasus and Trilogy families. Its equipment appeared across Europe, Britain, Ireland, Africa and other export markets, often adapted to individual telephone administrations and currencies.

This Telepunkt is therefore best understood as a private-payphone product rather than a standard Danish street telephone. Landis & Gyr’s communications business was eventually acquired by the IPM Group in 2001, while the parent company concentrated increasingly on energy metering and management. (Landis+Gyr history)