End of an Era
It is 24 years ago today that the last public electro-mechanical exchange ceased in use in the UK public telephone network.
It was located on the UK's most remote inhabited island - Foula, population about 30 - way out in the Atlantic to the west of the Shetland Islands.
It was a tiny 20 line 'Island Automatic eXchange No 5' where the subscribers were still dialling two digits to reach each other until that day.
The exchange was connected to the rest of the BT network by a 32 mile lone 2GHz microwave link bit originally it had been a low-band VHF radio link using a 'rhombic' aerial mounted on top of four 70ft high telegraph poles. Exchange on the right with the microwave equipment in the middle and the 'Main Distribution Frame' was a Krone Box 301 on the wall on the left.
The exchange now survives in preservation.
An excerpt from the BBC Radio 4's programme 'The Secret Life of Telephone Numbers' broadcast about ten years ago can be heard on Lerwick (01595) 708222.
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