Did you know?

The first phone book was published in the UK in 1880, only 4 years after Alexander Graham Bell's first phone call. However, it was completely unrecognisable from the modern day phone book, as no phone numbers were included in it! Only the addresses of the2 48 subscribers to the Telephone Company were listed, and if you wanted to phone somebody, you had to phone the operator and ask to speak to the person by name.

Early telephone kiosks, such as the K1 in 1921 and the K3 in 1929, were built out of concrete. The famous red telephone boxes which are an iconic part of the British landscape were launched in 1936 as the "Jubilee Kiosk" to commemorate the 25th Anniversary of the Coronation of King George V. It was designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott and for the first time was installed across the UK. One was installed in every town or village with a post office as part of the jubilee celebrations, leading to the introduction of over 8000 kiosks.

The Speaking Clock was first introduced in 1936. The service was originally only available in London. There have been four voices of the Speaking Clock - Miss Jane Cain (1936-1963), Pat Simmons (1963-1985), Brian Cobby (1985-2007) and Sara Mendes de Costa (2007-)

The 999 emergency number was introduced in London in 1937, and subsequently rolled out across the rest of the country. A red light would flash in the telephone exchange to draw the operator's attention to the fact that it was an emergency call.

From 1880 until 1951 the telephone was only recognised in UK law as being a form of telegraph.

100 became the number for the operator in 1959.

The curly chord connecting the handset to the telephone didn't appear until 1959 on the 700 series of telephones.

Prime Minister Harold Wilson opened the Post Office Tower in London (now the BT Tower) on Friday 8th October 1965. It was Britain's tallest building until 1980, when it was overtaken by the Natwest Tower. It is now the 8th tallest tower in London, showing how the skyline of London has been transformed since the 1960s.

In 1985 it became possible to rent a phoneline from BT without having to rent a phone from them as well.

Britain's first credit card operated pay phone was introduced in 1985 in Heathrow Airport and at Waterloo station.

In 1987 Itemised Billing was introduced.

Britain's 100,000th BT payphone was installed in 1992 at Dunsop Bridge near Clitheroe in Lancashire. This is the closest village to the centre of Great Britain, and a plaque can still be seen in the phonebox there commemorating the event.