Chip cards represent the 'new wave' in prepayment telephone cards and have been used in most countries in the world. The system was patented by a Frenchman, Roland Moreno, and was first introduced, following a…
Gemplus test cards: Africa
Several Validation or Manufacturing Acceptance Cards and Engineering Sample, commonly called by collectors Test cards, have been produced by Gemplus during the years, for almost all the countries where they installed a chip card phone…
History of Italian cards (1): the “yellow-blue” SIDA
In 1976, in Italy, the first prepaid calling card was born: in Rome, more precisely in the public telephone area of the Villa Borghese Galoppatoio, the first magnetic card phones were installed. The choice of…
History of Italian cards (2): the “white” and the “red” cards
In 1985, while SIDA-type phones with yellow blue vertical cards were spreading nationwide, Sip decided to proceed with the experimentation of a new type of additional blue card reader, to be added to existing telephones.…
History of Italian cards (3): Fasce Orarie
On the occasion of the Turin Motor Show of 1987, held in April at the Palazzo delle Esposizioni, six new experimental telephone cards are sold to the public, three of 5000 and three of 10,000…
History of Italian cards (4): the Tourist Series
In the first months of 1989 five experimental telephone cards of 10.000 lire were issued by SIP, four with a deadline of 31.12.89 and one with a deadline of 30.06.90, with the main purpose of…
History of Italian cards (5): the “Carta Infinita”
In the stores all over Italy, around the middle of 1991, and at the same time as the Fasce Orarie, a new type of ordinary card appears to replace the previous card: it is the…
History of Italian cards (6): “Compagna di tutti i giorni”
The "Compagna di tutti i giorni" (Everyday Companion) series, also called by collectors with the name "Wallet" or "Black card", is certainly the one that until today has been printed in the largest number of…
Mercurycards: the origins
The Mercurycard was introduced to London on July 271988 at Waterloo station, where 26 Mercurycard Telephone Booths had been installed for Mercury Communications' launch of its Public Payphone Service. The design of these telephone booths…
Some test and demo cards from Ireland
Telecom Eireann first introduced phonecards into the Republic of Ireland in the year 1988. The brand name chosen for these cards was “CallCard”. Telecom Eireann, Ireland's state-owned telecommunications company became privatized in 1999. Subsequently the…
