Quote:
Originally Posted by Hermitcrab
Portree became automatic in 1976, which meant that all UK exchanges were automatic, although you still couldn't dial any UK telephone from any other (i.e. completion of STD) until 1979. The British Overseas Territory of St Helena in the South Atlantic was still manual until 16 April 1983.
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See attached from a 1980's telephone directory for another overseas location where they were still 'winding the handle' in the 1980's.
And you still couldn't dial all the UK telephones in the UK until 1990! I once gave a talk on 'Preserving Strowger' to the IBTE Section at Whittington House, Oswestry in the mid 1990's and one of the managers present tod me all about the hassle BT had had from rival companies who were able to claim 'BT was not fully automatic yet but we are'! BT went to great lengths to 'end the era' of manual telephones in 1990!