Carterfone

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This is a device which was invented by Thomas Carter. It connects a two-way mobile radio system to the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN). The base station of the mobile radio system supplied electrical power for it.

It was electrically connected to the base station of the mobile radio system, and the electrical parts were encased in bakelite. When someone on the radio wished to speak to someone on phone, or "landline", the station operator at the base would dial the number and place the handset on the Carterfone. The device was therefore acoustically connected to the Public Switched Telephone Network, and did not have the capacity to damage the PSTN.

This particular device was involved with a landmark United States legal decision as related to telecommunications; see Thomas Carter.

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