What year did British Telecom discontinue the old circular dial on the front telephones.?
The last standard dial phone I remember was the old 706 which was an inheritance of BT’s from Post Office Telephones if memory serves. Dial phones were on their way out from the 70’s onwards but there were still plenty of them in the early 1980s and I believe it was about 84 or 85 when the stocks ran out. I know I saw some working as late as 89. I believe BT have replaced the majority as they wore out but a lady came in to our place last year requiring a new phone that we couldn’t supply her because her wall socket was still a hard-wired GPO type and hadn’t been modernised or even looked at since 1972! I worked for what remained of Post Office Telephones (looking after our own switches, line and plant) which was then a division of RoMec from 97 until we were finally outsourced to Siemens in 2001. We had a couple of these in the back covered with dust, so I re-wired them to fit in the click socket. One still worked, so I gave it to my Mother as a novelty. She’s using it in her bedroom e
