1982 - NMT portable cellular mobile telephone

Since 1951 it has been possible to install telephones in the cars. Calls were dispatched via manual operated exchanges, but the system had some disadvantages. For instance you had to know where around in the country the car was located and other subscribers with car telephones where able to listen to your conversation.

Due to that the Nordic countries decided to develop a mutual fully automatic mobile telephone system in the late seventies.

The Nordic mobile telephone system or NMT, that it is known as colloquially, was put into public service at the turn of the year 1981/82. At that time it covered major parts of Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. The goal was to make the NMT system functioning as much as possible just like the ordinary telephone system.

The mobile telephone exchange, a computer operated digital AXE exchange, automatically registers where the cellphone is located. So the calling person does not have to worry of in which of the Nordic countries the cellphone concerned is, as the mobile subscriber is always reachable at the same telephone number.

The NMT-system were equipped with several advanced functions, that we have become acquainted with in the ordinary telephone network later on. Among other things forwarding calls if no answer to another phone number and abbreviated dialling of most often used numbers. Besides this it has been breaking new ground in the development of the digital GSM cellphone system that was introduced later on.

The cellphone shown below is Swedish and manufactured by the Ericsson Radio Systems.

Post & Tele Museum - Koebmagergade 37 - Postbox 2053 - DK 1012 Copenhagen
Tel. (+45) 33 41 09 00 - email:museum@ptt-museum.dk