GPO / POST OFFICE SERVICE
RADIOPHONE

The Post Office Radiophone Service enabled customers with suitable radio equipment (mobiles) to make and receive calls to and from the Public Switched Telephone Network.

TI D5 I0051 - General description
TI B5 A0007 - Marketing information
TI D7 D1200 - Additional Information

POEEJ Article - London and Thames valley

This was not a Cellular system and was channel based. There were not a large number of channels and calls were time restricted to allow for this. The Radiophone called a manual switchboard and the operator would dial the required number.

System 1 was launched in 1959 and was used for testing purposes in the South Lancashire area. The London and Thames valley radio service opened in June 1965.

System 3 was the last GPO operator controlled Radio Phone system on which the user must manually select one of the 9 out of 36 speech channels. The radiophone only allowed the user to select an idle channel, an idle channel being one without carrier. Introduced in 1971.

System 4 was introduced in 1981 which allowed uses to dial numbers directly.

Pictures
Most are dated 1959

An engineer in a GPO, Hillman Estate car, making a test call

Transmitter equipment

Humber Super Snipe Estate
It looks like an official vehicle as it has a Pyrene fire extinguisher in the boot
Humber did not make an estate car but this was a conversion by a body builder