Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!accuvax.nwu.edu!nucsrl!telecom-request From: Clive Feather Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom Subject: Re: Touchtone History Message-ID: <9570@accuvax.nwu.edu> Date: 10 Jul 90 05:22:44 GMT Sender: news@accuvax.nwu.edu Organization: TELECOM Digest Lines: 25 Approved: Telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 10, Issue 472, Message 6 of 12 In vol 10 issue 468 roy@alanine.phri.nyu.edu (Roy Smith) says: > When were the first touchtone phones installed? > A touch-tone phone was clearly visible in President Kennedy's oval > office > Sitting on the table behind his chair were > about 3 or 4 single line desk sets, one touch-tone, the rest rotary. > Was touch-tone in general use in May 1963, or did the President just > have a pre-release model? I presume it had buttons. Why assume it was touch-tone ? The UK had push-button pulse dial phones for a *long* time before DTMF signalling arrived (I don't recall hearing of DTMF in the UK before 1986, while push button phones were around in the early 70's. Anyone remember the Trimphone ?). Clive D.W. Feather | IXI Limited clive@x.co.uk [x, not ixi] | 62-74 Burleigh St. ...!uunet!ixi!clive | Cambridge CB1 1OJ Phone: +44 223 462 131 | United Kingdom