History of telephone service in Catalonia

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The origins of telephone service in Catalonia date back to the end of the 19th century. At the beginning of the 20th, the Spanish Government had left it to private industry to create the infrastructure necessary for telephone communications. Therefore, the relevant concessionary companies created those lines which they thought would be profitable.

In Catalonia there were two telephone companies: Companyia Telefónica del Vallès and Companyia Peninsular de Telèfons

It was the Catalonian Government, or Mancomunitat, under Prat de la Riba, envisioning a grand plan for the future consisting of a public telephone service serving the whole region, which kickstarted the process of linking the majority of Catalonian towns by telephone.

However, the unfortunate decision of the dictatorial administration of Primo de Rivera to abolish the Mancomunitat interrupted the work on the telephone network, slowing the progress of regional development. The Catalan intercity telephone network would not be completed for many years hence, long after the end of the Spanish Civil War.

Contents 1 Chronology 1.1 Prohibition of the use of Catalan 1.2 The Mancomunitat Brings Telephone Service to All the People of Catalonia 1.3 The Dictatorship of Primo de Rivera Halts the Progress of the Mancomunitat 1.4 Entry of Spain to the European Union and Deregulation of the Telephone Service 2 See also 3 External links

[edit] Chronology

• On the 16 December 1877 the first telephone trials in the Iberian peninsula take place, between two lecture halls in the College of Industry, Barcelona.
• 26 December 1877 The first long distance telephone conference takes place, between Barcelona and Girona.
• 1884 A royal decree establishes a State monopoly over all telephone services.
• 1886 The take-up of phone service by private companies is authorised, due to lack of interest on the part of the Spanish Government.
• 20 April 1896 An intercity telephone line between Barcelona, Saragossa and Madrid is inaugurated.

[edit] Prohibition of the use of Catalan

• 29 May 1896 By order of the Directorate-General of the Post Office, the use of Catalan is prohibited in intercity telephone communications.
• 20 June 1896 By royal decree, the use of Catalan in intercity telephone and telegram communications is authorised, thus lifting the restrictions imposed by the previous decree.
• 1911 The Science Faculty of the Institute of Catalan Studies is founded.
• 1913 Telephone services are started by the Companyia Telefónica del Vallès
• 1914 Prat de la Riba becomes leader of the Mancomunitat de Catalunya.

[edit] The Mancomunitat Brings Telephone Service to All the People of Catalonia

• 20 July 1915 The Mancomunitat signs an agreement with the Companyia Peninsular de Telèfons, owned by Enric Parellada, Bases de Inteligencia, by virtue of which the Mancomunitat was able to lay down those lines it saw fit to create, without prejudice to the rights of the Company obtained from its concession.
• 2 March 1915 Foundation of the Telephone Department of the Mancomunitat de Catalunya, headed by Esteban Terradas i Illa, who won the contest to head the department. The Telephone Department was charged with briging telephone service to all parts of Catalonia.
• The Royal Decree of 9 September 1915 authorises the Mancomunitat to install and make use of the remaining Catalan telephone network ... una Red telefònica interurbana que pueda unir varios o todos los pueblos de las cuatro provincias mancomunadas/"An intercity telephone network capable of joining some or all of the people of the four provinces of the Catalan Mancomunitat."
• 1916 The "Barcelona Technology Agency" of the Telephone Department of the Mancomunitat is formed, headed by Terradas, and employing an interim official, two auxiliary officers, a comptroller, a typist, a copyist, and a mosso de magatzem.
• 1 July 1916 The phonebox at Mollerussa becomes operational.
• 8 August 1916 The phonebox at Lleida becomes operational.

[edit] The Dictatorship of Primo de Rivera Halts the Progress of the Mancomunitat

• 13 September 1923 coup d'état by Primo de Rivera, who suspends the Constitution, dissolves Parliament and imposes a military dictatorship based on nationalist, authoritarian principles.
• 3 February 1924 In Balaguer, the first automatic telephone exchange in Spain is inaugurated, constructed by the Telephone Department of the Mancomunitat and directed by Esteban Terradas.
• 1919 Esteban Terradas founds the Institute of Applied Electrical and Mechanical Studies, and becomes its Director.
• Albert Einstein visita Barcelona - 1923, com part dels cursos monogràfics d'Alts Estudis i d'Intercanvi organitzats per la Mancomunitat de Catalunya.
• 19 April 1924 Companyia Telefònica Nacional d'Espanya|The Spanish National Telephone Company is constituted
• 5 November 1925 With the establishment of the dictatorship of Primo de Rivera, the Mancomunitat's telephone network becomes part of the Spanish National Telephone Company.
• 1928 Telephone Service is instituted between Spain and the United States.
• 1929 Terradas is named director of the Spanish National Telephone Company.
• Following the Spanish Civil War, during the era of Francisco Franco's dictatorship, the era of State control of the telephone service begins.

[edit] Entry of Spain to the European Union and Deregulation of the Telephone Service

• The entry of Spain to the European Union leads to...
• The promulgation of the Law on the Regulation of the Telecommunications Industry (LOT), which regulates the new certification system for telephone companies, and allows for the entry of other network operators, leading to improvements in telephone service.

[edit] See also

• History of Catalonia
• History of the Economy of Catalonia
• Esteban Terradas i Illa
• Compañía Telefónica Nacional de España

This article is a translation of the original at Història de la telefonia a Catalunya

[edit] External links

• Terradas y la Telefonia
• Web portal of Telefònica, SA