A hobby website dedicated to the Telephone.
From the “I didn’t even know it was still around” department. Apparently T-Mobile in the USA shut down their 2G network on Monday August 3, 2026. Were there any customers on the 2G network? Was this the original 2G that T-Mobile had, or was this something they inherited from Sprint?... Read more »
(Admin note: I actually talked to Joybubbles a few times before his passing in 2007.) Famous Phone Phreaker Joybubbles is now in a documentary that is being showcased at several viewings throughout the US. I do not know if or when it will be available for wide release. https://www.inverse.com/entertainment/joybubbles-documentary-rachael-morrison-interview
April 4, 2026 – T-Mobile is thinking about buying Uniti Fiber, which just bought Windstream (marketing as Kinetic Fiber). So in essence, T-Mobile might own a “wireline” phone company after all. Just like Verizon and AT&T do (at least for the moment). https://www.fierce-network.com/broadband/t-mobile-might-buy-kinetic-fiber-assets-uniti-group
December 24, 2025 – The inevitable has started. AT&T in Oklahoma (former Southwest Bell) is slowly turning off central offices. The first appears to be a small town called Hitchcock, OK, about an hour NW of Oklahoma City. This is a VERY small town that was served by a 5ESS... Read more »
December 11, 2025 (Updated March 2026) – I heard from an industry contact that the Lansing, MI 4ESS switch (LNNGMIMN50T) is slated to be powered off tonight. Traffic through the switch has already been rerouted elsewhere. This is considered to be the last 4ESS in the lower 48 states. Only... Read more »
May 9, 2025 – Long time website This Is a Recording (originally by Jennifer Martino) is now owned and operated by Telephone World. We thank Jenn for her hard efforts in running the site for many years. We wish to continue the tradition for many more years to come. If... Read more »
March 14, 2025 – The entire collection of long time telephone collector Phil McCarter of Salem, OR (also known as SXSPhil) will be moving to the Connections Museum. Most fans of telephony know of the awesome museum in Seattle, WA with their collection of switching equipment (Panel, #1XB, #5XB, DMS-10,... Read more »
In October 2024, I had the opportunity to visit The Telephone Museum in Ellsworth, Maine. This museum had so much to see! It features many different kinds of telephones, manual cordboards, several Step by Step switches, several All-Relay switches – and finally an entire #3 crossbar switch and a partial... Read more »
Whose buying whom? Bell Canada is buying Ziply Fiber, which only formed a few years ago and bought former GTE/Verizon/Frontier territory in Washington state, Idaho, Oregon, and Montana. Looks like it will take several years to complete and will cost around C$5 Billion. Now of course I’m curious as to... Read more »
This goes under the “what are they thinking?” department. Verizon is mostly a wireless company, with a FTTH as a sideline and a copper infrastructure they’d rather get rid of. But they are buying Frontier for the FIOS network they divested themselves from about 10 years ago. FIOS is the... Read more »