Telecom Tower, London taken 1966 - geograph

Post Office Telecommunications was set up as a separate department of the UK

Post Office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...

, in October 1969. The

Post Office Act 1969 The Post Office Act 1969 (c.48) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that changed the General Post Office from a department of state to a public corporation, known as the Post Office. It also abolished the office of Postmaster Gener ...

was passed to provide for greater efficiency in post and telephone services; rather than run a range of services, each organisation would be able to focus on their respective service, with dedicated management. By law, the Post Office had the exclusive right to operate the UK national telecom network, (although since 1914 had licensed Hull City Council to operate its own local telephone network,

Kingston Communications KCOM Group (formerly known as Kingston Communications and latterly KC) is a UK communications and IT services provider. Its headquarters are in the city of Kingston upon Hull, and it serves local residents and businesses with Internet and telep ...

) and limited ability to license other providers' services and equipment. The

National Telephone Company The National Telephone Company (NTC) was a British telephone company from 1881 until 1911 which brought together smaller local companies in the early years of the telephone. Under the Telephone Transfer Act 1911 it was taken over by the General P ...

controlled most of telephony in Britain before the 1880 ruling on the Telegraph Act 1869 mandated a nationalised service – which was instated in 1911. The 1869 Telegraph Act granted this monopoly over communications and it was confirmed in 1880 that this Act included telephony even though the telephone had not been invented when the Act was first conceived. Post Office engineers in the inter-war period had considerable expertise in both telecommunications and hearing assistive devices. The 1970s was a period of great expansion for the Post Office. Most exchanges were modernised and expanded, and many services, such as STD and international dialling were extended. By the early 1970s, subscribers in most cities could dial direct to Western Europe, the US, and Canada; by the end of the decade, most of the world could be dialled direct. The System X digital switching platform was developed, and the first digital exchanges began to be installed. The Post Office also procured their own fleet of vans, based on the

Commer FC The Commer FC was a forward control commercial vehicle produced by Commer from 1960 to 1976. During its lifespan, it was developed into the Commer PB in 1967, and the Commer SpaceVan in 1974. After the Rootes Group, which owned Commer, was purcha ...

model. However, progress came at a price. Investment was stifled by public spending limits, and long waiting lists for telephone lines developed, sometimes for years. In 1979 the

Conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

decided that telecommunications should be fully separated from the Post Office. By 1981, the British Telecommunications Act was passed and the service became

British Telecom BT Group plc (trade name, trading as BT and formerly British Telecom) is a British Multinational corporation, multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered in London, England. It has operations in around 180 countries and is th ...

in October that year.

Historical documents

Records of the Post Office Corporation (Telecommunications division) 1969-1981 and its predecessors (including Post Office Telegraph and Telephone Service 1864-1969 and some private telegraph and telephone companies) are Public Records, and are held by

BT Archives The BT Archives is an archive preserving the documentary heritage of the British telecoms company BT and its public sector predecessors. It is designated an official place of deposit for Public Records, for those records created prior to BT's ...

References

External links

BT Archives

BT Archives online catalogue
{{Telecommunications History of telecommunications in the United Kingdom BT Group Former nationalised industries of the United Kingdom Organizations established in 1969 1969 establishments in the United Kingdom

Historical documents

See also

References

External links