The Secret Life Of Phone Numbers

Ian Peacock dials up stories from the history of telephony, recalling the days of two-digit phone numbers and purring dial tones, GPO operators and mechanical exchanges. And he discovers that this era was still with us even as digital technology and mobile phones entered our lives in the 1990s.

First
Broadcast

Repeated

Comments

20041027

20041227

The ever growing length of UK phone numbers from one digit to today's six or seven, the introduction of call-boxes and even the speaking clock, at the time, all taxed our limited patience with technology. And, that era of communication with its mechanical exchanges and purring dial tones was, unbeknown to most of us, still crackling with life even as digital and mobile phones entered our lives in the 1990s.

Dialling up stories from the history of telephony, Ian Peacock recalls the days of two-digit phone numbers and purring dial tones, GPO operators and mechanical exchanges. He discovers that this era was still with us even as digital technology and mobile phones entered Our lives in the 1990S.

Ian Peacock takes a step back into the not too distant past to dial up some previously untold stories from the history of telephony. GPO operators, at the front-line of communications with the public for more than half a century, reveal how they coped with the awkward, the brave, and the nuisance caller, as the march of technology gradually transformed the phone call from an occasional necessity to an everyday casual experience.The ever growing length of UK phone numbers from one digit to todays six or seven, the introduction of call-boxes and even the speaking clock, at the time, all taxed our limited patience with technology. And, that era of communication with its mechanical exchanges and purring dial tones was, unbeknown to most of us, still crackling with life even as digital and mobile phones entered our lives in the 1990s.

Episodes

First Broadcast	Repeated	Comments
20041027	20041227	Ian Peacock takes a step back into the not too distant past to dial up some previously untold stories from the history of telephony. GPO operators, at the front-line of communications with the public for more than half a century, reveal how they coped with the awkward, the brave, and the nuisance caller, as the march of technology gradually transformed the phone call from an occasional necessity to an everyday casual experience. The ever growing length of UK phone numbers from one digit to today's six or seven, the introduction of call-boxes and even the speaking clock, at the time, all taxed our limited patience with technology. And, that era of communication with its mechanical exchanges and purring dial tones was, unbeknown to most of us, still crackling with life even as digital and mobile phones entered our lives in the 1990s. Dialling up stories from the history of telephony, Ian Peacock recalls the days of two-digit phone numbers and purring dial tones, GPO operators and mechanical exchanges. He discovers that this era was still with us even as digital technology and mobile phones entered Our lives in the 1990S. Ian Peacock takes a step back into the not too distant past to dial up some previously untold stories from the history of telephony. GPO operators, at the front-line of communications with the public for more than half a century, reveal how they coped with the awkward, the brave, and the nuisance caller, as the march of technology gradually transformed the phone call from an occasional necessity to an everyday casual experience.The ever growing length of UK phone numbers from one digit to todays six or seven, the introduction of call-boxes and even the speaking clock, at the time, all taxed our limited patience with technology. And, that era of communication with its mechanical exchanges and purring dial tones was, unbeknown to most of us, still crackling with life even as digital and mobile phones entered our lives in the 1990s.

First
Broadcast

Repeated

Comments

20041027

20041227