Back to Basics Telephonically

[Katie Wasserman]

Quote: It's too bad the phone company doesn't support rotary any more.

They do in some places. Even my VOIP cable internet provider still has interfaces (modems) that accept dial phones.

Quote:They're not especially common, but hard-wired (non-modular) TT sets are out there. I believe the modular connector was first field trial-ed by the Bell System in the early '70s, and then integrated into the production lines as the decade progressed. I've also seen phones which were half-converted to modular in the field; that is, they still have a hard-wired handset cord, but have been crudely fitted with a modular line cord by way of a small modular jack inside the phone base.

There was a period of time between hardwired phones and modular that MaBell used 4-prong plugs and jacks. Mostly these were used prior to touch-tone phones but early touch-tone phones used them too.