1956
Spain remains at the top of the list of countries with the highest number of active telephones in the world. In the meantime, Televisión Española starts its broadcasting and Telefónica's cables help to carry the signal.
The first screen that would change our lives arrives
01
During the previous years, the necessary infrastructures of the basic network were put in place, and with the inauguration this year of the Madrid-Zaragoza-Barcelona coaxial cable that would provide much easier and higher quality communications, the ideal scenario was set for the multiple connections that would allow television broadcasts. In 1956 Televisión Española began broadcasting. At that time there were only 600 receivers, but a public tender was launched for the production of 20,000 television sets. This would be the beginning of the transformation of Spanish society thanks to the first screen that would be installed in our homes forever.
Spain, among the 14 countries with the most telephones in the world
02
With more than 1.2 million handsets installed, Spain is in the select group of 14 countries with more than 1 million handsets. This was achieved thanks to the development and deployment of the last few years, which made it possible for the interurban circuit to reach 750,000 kilometres, enabling 90 million conferences to be attended and bringing telephone service to 1,300 towns that lacked it.
Bakelite jewels
03
In 1956, Telefónica introduced the 5523-EZ model as the first disc telephone in Spain for domestic use. A Spanish-made black Bakelite handset, it was still within the reach of very few households. The handset and the handset were connected by an extendable spiral cable, and in the centre of the dialling disc, there was always a white rectangle so that the subscriber could write down his own number. Now a collector's item, the 5523-EZ is one of the first "inventions" to put plastic to industrial use.
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