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"Bell System Property, Not For Sale"

Started by McHeath, August 19, 2009, 01:00:58 AM

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McHeath

It just hit me that maybe the reason they started stamping this on the WE phones in 1968 was the Carterphone decision. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carterphone

Is this the reason for the Bell System suddenly getting all possessive of their phones in 68'?

Phonesrfun

Yep, that's where it all started... Or at least one of the big events that perpetrated that.

-Bill G

foots

I often see that "Bell System Property, Not For Sale" and wonder if the Bell people had any idea that this many years down the road their products would not only still be around, but coveted by so many people.
"Ain't Worryin' 'Bout Nothin"

rp2813

Yes, Carterphone started it back in 1968.  The way the story was told at work when I was with the local phone company is that the subscriber (business) could purchase CPE (Customer Premises Equipment) from another vendor but then AT&T would come in, pull the guts out and replace it with their own.  Only the shell remained.

The Carterphone decision started the ball rolling toward complete divestiture some 26 years later and the creation of the "Baby Bells," with AT&T reduced to a long distance provider.

Just under 26 years after that, we were back to AT&T (well, SBC masquerading as AT&T) being the largest local phone service provider in the nation again.  Some things were just meant to be, I guess.
Ralph

bingster

Quote from: foots on August 19, 2009, 03:46:37 AM...wonder if the Bell people had any idea that this many years down the road their products would not only still be around, but coveted by so many people.

I don't know that they would have thought their phones would be coveted in the future, but I have no doubt that they were fairly certain lots of their phones would exist in the future.  They were specifically designed to last as long as humanly possible.
= DARRIN =



BDM

Bell and/or AT&T property, not for sale, started many moons before this issue. I see it marked on candlesticks. The TelCo was very protective of their equipment from the start. Simply, they owned it.
--Brian--

St Clair Shores, MI

ntophones

I guess a lot of people disregarded that. I remember having to turn our phones in (those old, black WE 500s).
We had a cool wall phone and a desk phone. I wanted to keep them even then, but, we were told to turn them back in. Then, we had to buy our own light phones, which I never did like as well.....Now, I'm buying the older phones back!  8)
ntophones
--nto

rp2813

Somehow, my parents' hardwired black 500 survived the modular push.  I don't know how it happened but Pacific Bell never made them exchange it, or my dad, who had bootlegged phones all over the house (even though with deregulation they became legit), chose not to respond to the bill inserts and other communications from the Phone Company advising on how to snip your hardwired phone and bring it to the PhoneStore to trade it for a "new" one along with a modular jack conversion kit.

Ralph
Ralph

TelePlay

#8
Quote from: McHeath on August 19, 2009, 01:00:58 AM
It just hit me that maybe the reason they started stamping this on the WE phones in 1968 was the Carterphone decision. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carterphone

Is this the reason for the Bell System suddenly getting all possessive of their phones in 68'?

Nothing  like restarting a topic 5 years later with the subject of the thread.

Currently for sale on eBay, and it may have been for some time, is a "new" Original Carterfone Device with a current BIN price of $6,495.00 plus $23 shipping. It has 11 watchers.

Seller's item description states "This listing is for an Original Carterfone Device was designed to connect a landline telephone to a two-way radio system.  Therefore allowing an individual who was not on the radio system to speak to someone on that system through a cradle in the Carterfone device and listen through a separate speaker.  a unique piece of Communications history.

The model is C-3-L, M & H.

This unit was purchased from Carter Electronics Corporation in Dallas, Texas sometime between 1959 and 1966.  The Carterfone was the forebearer of the Private phone to Two way Radio  system interconnection to the then Bell telephone system.  Even though no physical connection was made to the phone lines, Bell sued to prevent it's use and LOST!!  After losing the suit, the FCC ruled that a multitude of private devices (including the technology for your cell phone) could be used on the Bell Telephone system.

Thomas F.  Carter who invented the Carterfone and manufactured and sold the units through his Carter Electronics Corp from 1959 through 1966 lived in Dallas, TX.  Approximately 4500 Carterfones were produced and 3500 were sold to dealers and distributors.  The Carters lived in the Dallas area for many years and then retired to Gun Barrell, TX.  For more history information on this amazing device goto http://www.sandman.com/telhist.html

This item is in really crisp shape!  You could call it New - Old Stock condition. The pictures are of the unit we are selling.  It has discolored in places with age.  Original box and instructions are included."


This is the first time I've seen this talked about and historic phone item on eBay so posting it here for posterity. The Sandman link provide more on the history of this device. One thing that caught my eye on this one that is for sale was the star in the transmitter cradle, which I'd guess is symbolic of Texas, the Lone Star State, where it was created. The Sandman photo shows the traditional circular hole pattern. Was the "star" version the first run/version? The Sandman story shows a dark colored Carterphone under glass with the same "star" shape and claims that this under glass item as "This original Carterfone is one of the few remaining devices in existence, and has been preserved to commemorate the historic legal milestone it represents."

rdelius

I had a Carterphone but sold it years ago for lots less than that Ebay listing. No star on mine