The Phones

Siemens & Halske ZBSA 24

Before 1926 Metal and wood

The first telephones were mostly made of wood. As demand for smaller telephones grew and progresses in technology made components smaller, more and more telephones were made of metal, steel in particular.

Automatic exchanges and rotary dials start to emerge.

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Siemens & Halske Modell 26

1926 – 1945 Bakelite – WW2

Telefooncel telegram 1938
Telefooncel telegram 1938

The first telephones with an integrated dial start to appaer, metal is being replace by the new modern materail Bakelite. Because of the properties of this material more complex shapes can be made more easily.

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BASA Norm 51

1945 – 1960 Late bakelite period

Ericsson advertentie 1953
Ericsson advertentie 1953

Post war austerity leads to mostly simple black telephones on this side of the Atlantic. The material used is almost exclusively Bakelite, while in the USA all kinds of colorfull phones made of thermoplastics are available to consumers.

At the end of the 50s the first thermoplastic telephones start to appear in Europe too.

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PTT T65 Blauw

1960 – 1975 Plastic era

Folder t65
Folder t65

Almost every country gets its own model modern plastic telephone. The color of choice for these modern telephones is invariably grey, as a change from the dull black of the past. The first colored telephones are available to consumers.

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BEOCOM 1000

1975 – 1990 Touch tone era

The invention of the transistor and the development of microelectronics lead to the touch tone telephone. Touch tone makes use of digital signaling, called DTMF.

It is the beginning of the end of the era of big monopolistic telephone companies.

Consumers demand varied models and colorfull telephones. The telephone becomes a fashion accesory and together with liberalisation of the telephone market this leads to a sharp decline in kwality and life expectancy of the telephones.

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PTT folder 1983 achter
PTT folder 1983 achter

PTT Bastia

1990 – present

Telefoons worden meer en meer draadloos en gaan op mobieltjes lijken. DECT-telefonie zorgt ervoor dat men ongestoord draadloos kan bellen. De opkomst van internet en GSM-telefoons leiden tot een dalend aantal vaste lijnen. ISDN en VOIP-telefonie doen vooral telefoons voor kantooromgevingen enorm veranderen.

Telephones become more and more wireless and start to look like mobile telephones. Because of DECT technology people are able to call each other wireless without interference.

The emergence of the internet and GSM-telephony lead to a decline in fixed landlines. ISDN and VOIP lead to dramatic changes in telephones for an office environment.

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