| Name | GPT Sapphire IC-card payphone, operated by China Telecom |
| Date | 1996 |
| Manufacturer | GPT Payphone Systems (GEC Plessey Telecommunications), Coventry, England, United Kingdom. |
| Link | PDF X2 Connect – Sapphire Spares Catalogue |
CHINA TELECOM GPT Sapphire IC-card payphone
GPT Sapphire IC-card payphone, operated by China Telecom. The Chinese contract was announced under GPT Payphone Systems, which later operated as part of Marconi Communications. South China Morning Post
In October 1995, the South China Morning Post reported that GPT had won a contract with the Beijing and Guangdong telecommunications administrations after a successful trial in Beijing. The initial order covered systems for 2,000 smart-card payphones, planned for installation in 1996. A separate contemporary report identifies GPT’s Sapphire smart-card payphones as having been installed in mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau. That makes Sapphire a strong attribution for the matching China Telecom units in your Shanghai and Shenzhen photos. South China Morning Post
The close-up shows how it worked. The caller lifted the handset, inserted an IC phonecard, and dialled. The bilingual faceplate lists controls for making another call, redialling, changing the display language and adjusting the volume. The rickshaw photo shows a similar housing, but the upper panel and lower fittings differ, so I’d catalogue it separately until its markings can be read.
The GPT Sapphire was a British IC-card payphone exported to several Asian, European and South American markets in the mid-1990s. Following a successful Beijing trial in 1995, GPT won a contract to supply systems for an initial 2,000 smart-card payphones for the Beijing and Guangdong telecommunications administrations, with installation planned for 1996. www.scmp.com
By June 1996, AFP reported Sapphire installations in mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Thailand. Indonesia was the next announced market. PT Prismasentra Agung, one of five companies licensed to operate payphones there, placed an order for 10,000 GPT units. The Philippines was also a prospective market.
GPT Payphone Systems (GEC Plessey Telecommunications), Coventry, England, United Kingdom. GPT Payphone Systems was the name used when the Chinese contract was announced in 1995. The legal company name is listed as GPT Payphone Systems Limited. South China Morning Post
- Origins. GEC Plessey Telecommunications, or GPT, was formed in 1988 from the telecommunications interests of Britain’s General Electric Company (GEC) and Plessey. Phonecard Museum
- Later ownership. By January 1999, a company press release described GPT Payphone Systems as a division of Marconi Communications, based in Coventry. The GPT name was still in use under Marconi. 14 January 1999
Coventry is the documented business location. The factory that assembled the Chinese Sapphire units remains unverified.
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