Carterfone

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The Carterphone is a device invented by Thomas Carter. It connects a two-way mobile radio system to the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN). The base station of the mobile radio system supplied electrical power for it.

It was electrically connected to the base station of the mobile radio system, and the electrical parts were encased in bakelite. When someone on the radio wished to speak to someone on phone, or "landline", the station operator at the base would dial the number and place the handset on the Carterfone. The device was acoustically, but not electrically, connected to the Public Switched Telephone Network, and did not have the capacity to damage the PSTN.

This particular device was involved in a landmark United States legal decision related to telecommunications. The 1968 Federal Communications Commission the Carterfone and other devices to be connected directly to the AT&T network. This would allow the Carterfone to be connected to several networks. After the ruling, several telecommunications companies were created, such as Amtelco.