In Vietnam, the phonecards and the payphone service was established in July, 1991 and to be stopped its facilities in 2013. The first payphone system was installed in the HCMC under the coopeartion contract between the HCMC Post and Telecom and Sapura (Malaysia), with the trade mark Uniphonekad. The phonecards used to operate their phones is the magnetic encoded one with several designs introduced some images of Vietnam such as the Public Houses, the landsape, and the Vietnamese daily life, etc...
The second payphone system in Vietnam was installed in Hanoi under the contractual business between Hanoi Post and Telecom and Schelumberger (Swiss). This system is different from the HCMC one. They were operated by the the smart-phonecards (the cards were sticked a microchip on their faces). This was the first smartphone system in Vietnam then. After two years in operation as atrial project, this one was stopped in 1996. But its technology has been applied to a new payphone system - the third in Vietnam, and a nationwide one - which named GPC Payphone System, operated by VNPT, and started since 1997.
The above mentioned payphone systems contributed a very important features to the development of telecom service in Vietnam, particularly at the initial stage of the "doi moi" policy in public service of this country. Those phonecards, with their variety designs, are very attractive and deservable collection.
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