Zonephone handset, 1989-1991
- Made:
- 1989-1991 in United Kingdom
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Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum
Zonephone Handset, Serial No. 83229411, by Ferranti Creditphone Limited, England, 1989-1991.
In the late 1980s the second generation of cordless telephone (CT2) technology, also known as Telepoint, was in development. This rack of electronics was CT2 test equipment used by BT engineers at BT Laboratories, Martlesham Heath. Many people thought that Telepoint technology could compete with the young mobile phone industry, as a home phone that could also be used outside. Four Telepoint services were launched: Rabbit, Phonepoint, Mercury Callpoint and Zonephone. Users could carry their Telepoint phone with them and make calls if they were within range of a public base station. The quickly expanding mobile phone industry rapidly outstripped Telepoint systems. Phonepoint, the first UK Telepoint service, closed only two years after its 1989 launch with fewer than 1000 subscribers.
Details
- Category:
- Telecommunications
- Object Number:
- 1994-1063 Pt3
- Materials:
- electronic components and plastic (unidentified)
- Measurements:
-
overall: 180 mm x 202 mm x 44 mm, .22 kg
- type:
- telephone component
- taxonomy:
-
- component - object
- telephone
- credit:
- Donated by BT Laboratories
