BT Test Equipment used in the development of the CT2 (Second Generation) Telepoint Cordless Telephone system

Made:
1988 in United Kingdom and Ipswich

BT Test Equipment used in the development of the CT2 (Second Generation) Telepoint Cordless Telephone system. Two 19 inch electronics racks representing base station and handset, made by British Telecom Research Laboratories, Ipswich, Suffolk, 1989. Handset and base station, made by Ferranti Creditphone, British, 1989-1991. Handset, made by Shaye Communcations Limited, British, 1989-199. All conforming to the Common Air Interface Standard, CAI, 1988

BT Test Equipment used in the development of the CT2 (Second Generation) Telepoint Cordless Telephone system.

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. 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. The last operator, Rabbit, withdrew in 1993.

Details

Category:
Telecommunications
Object Number:
1994-1063
Materials:
metal (unknown), plastic (unidentified) and electronic components
Measurements:
Zonephone: 180 mm x 202 mm x 44 mm,
Zonephone base station: 225 mm x 51 mm x 44 mm,
electronic racks (each): 266 mm x 482 mm x 242 mm,
Forum phone: 140 mm x 60 mm x 15 mm,
type:
testbed
credit:
Donated by BT Laboratories

Parts

CT2 Test Bed Module representing handset and Telepoint handset

CT2 Test Bed Module representing handset and Telepoint handset

CT2 Test Bed Module representing handset, AND Telepoint handset, by British Telecom, UK, 1988

Measurements:
overall: 266 mm x 472 mm x 242 mm,
Materials:
electronic components and metal (unknown)
Object Number:
1994-1063 Pt1
type:
testbed
CT2 wireless telephone test bed module representing base station, 1988

CT2 wireless telephone test bed module representing base station, 1988

CT2 Test Bed Module representing base station, British Telecom Research Laboratories, Martlesham Heath, Ipswich, Suffolk, England, 1988. Used for the development of a Telepoint system conforming to a Common Air Interface Standard with cellular radio networks, by British Telecom, UK, 1988

Measurements:
overall: 266 mm x 472 mm x 242 mm, 9.26 kg
Materials:
metal (unknown) and electronic components
Object Number:
1994-1063 Pt5
type:
testbed
Desk stand for zonephone private base station, 1989-1991

Desk stand for zonephone private base station, 1989-1991

Desk stand for zonephone Private Base Station, Serial No. 00000701, by Ferranti Creditphone Limited, England, 1989-1991

Measurements:
overall: 225 mm x 51 mm x 44 mm, 831.5 g
Materials:
plastic (unidentified) and electronic components
Object Number:
1994-1063 Pt6
type:
base station