The 7A central at Frogner in Oslo

- Televerket's first automatic telephone switchboard: Centenary in 2021

7A - Frognersentralen is an object at The Norwegian Museum of Science and Technology with an exciting history. Photo: The Norwegian Museum of Science and Technology

On 23 January 2021, the exchange will be 100 years old.

In 1980 it became a museum piece, and in 2011 it came to The Norwegian Museum of Science and Technology .

Hear telecommunications historian Arve Nordsveen tell about Televerket's first automatic telephone exchange by starting the film, below:

On Saturday 23 January 2021, we celebrated the centenary with a film in which telecommunications historian Arve Nordsveen tells about what it was like to work at the switchboard and how the automation of the telecommunications network took place in Oslo. The film is broadcast at 09:00 on Saturday via the museum's Facebook page. Click on this link to get there!

Arve Nordsveen writes on his Facebook page:

Saturday 23/1 marks 100 years since the Frogner automatic telephone exchange in Kristiania was put into operation. It was the start of the automation of the capital. This is noted by The Norwegian Museum of Science and Technology , where parts of the 7A exchange from 1921 have been preserved. These are vital parts, as they make up a complete exchange of 20 numbers, in contrast to the 10,000 that functioned until 29/8 1980.

The switchboard became my first place of work in the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation in the period 31/8 1976 - 1/6 1979.

Now it will be my task to tell the story of both the center and Frogner as a working environment. I will be interviewed and the session will be recorded on video and posted on The Norwegian Museum of Science and Technology 's Facebook page.

It's easy to turn back time to 5/5 2010. Then we at the Telemuseet* celebrated 130 years of telephones in Norway. First I appeared on a live broadcast on NRK radio P1 and then gave a lecture at The Norwegian Museum of Science and Technology . 5 years later NRK broadcasted it in a repeat.

I greatly appreciate the fact that I have been able to take part in this part of telehistory, and in addition am allowed to convey it in a museum context.

*The Telemuseum is today part of The Norwegian Museum of Science and Technology .

Press this link to get to the museum's Facebook page!

History:

Around 1910, the telephone exchanges in Kristiania were overloaded, and they looked around for new solutions. They ended up going for a fully automatic switchboard, a type from Western Electric which in Norway received the designation 7A. All the way back in 1912, they had delivered one like this in New Zealand, and documentation from there was attached to the tender. They came to an agreement and signed a contract on 1/3 1916.

Initially, the switchboard was to be built in Belgium, but fear of war meant that Western Electric moved production to the USA. In 1917, the United States entered the world war, and there was a ban on sending high technology to Europe. Norway was affected by the boycott. The boycott was lifted in the summer of 1918, and boxes of equipment could be sent to Kristiania. Now there were additional delays, both because the American fitters at Frogner in Kristiania went on strike, and because a large part of the cables went down when the Kristianiafjord sank.

Over the winter of 1920/21 things began to settle down. In the meantime, the telephone director in Kristiania had to respond to an incredible amount of fuss that was reproduced in the newspapers of the time.

Finally, on 23 January 1921, the Telegraph Service's first automatic telephone exchange could be opened. At its opening, it had 6,000 numbers. There were many extensions until it was closed on 29/8 1980 when it had 10,000 numbers.

When the replacement was approved, there was a suggestion that some of it had to be preserved. Televerket reserved a room in Hesselberg gt. in Oslo where the equipment could be stored with a view to reassembly. It was carried out by pensioners from the Televerket and Standard Telefon og kabelfabrikk (STK). On 23 January 1991, the overhaul was completed, and the switchboard was put into operation. A part of each link in the switchboard was taken care of so that it now had 20 numbers instead of 10,000. It was now possible to call both internally in the switchboard and to local numbers in Oslo. After 8 digits were introduced in 1993, the registers had to be rebuilt from 6 to 8 digits, this was never carried out and it was no longer possible to call 7A signals out of the house.

In the fall of 2011, the buildings, which were owned by Telenor Eiendom, were to be sold. The Telemuseet was given the choice of paying a very high rent or moving from the premises. We chose the latter. The main part of the exchange was dismantled very carefully and transported to The Norwegian Museum of Science and Technology . Theoretically, it should be possible to connect it for further use. What was done was that the floor was leveled and covered with the same type of covering used in automatic telephone exchanges, and the motors that ensured the rotation were connected. Electronic connection so that it was possible to make calls through was never an option.