Predecessor of Post Office Telecommunications, British Telecom, BT...
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Pillar boxes, poles, kiosks and cabinets, the General Post Office (GPO) was once responsible for them all! |
The origins of the General Post Office (GPO) can be traced back to at least the 17th century when in 1661, under the Postmaster General, Henry Bishop, the first British postmark was introduced.
The first postage stamps went on sale on 1st May 1840.
The Telegraph Acts of 1868-70 gave Her Majesty's Postmaster General the right to acquire and operate the existing inland telegraph systems in the UK.
From 1st January 1912 the General Post Office became the monopoly supplier of telephone services with the exception of the remaining municipal services in Hull, Portsmouth and Guernsey.
Post Office Telephones
Key dates in the history and evolution of the telephone business of The Post Office can be identified by changes in stationery, vehicle logos, liveries and branding, acts of Parliament, regulation...
Throughout the 1960s, the Post Office was still a government department, part of the Civil Service.
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Post Office Telephones livery was white lettering on mid-bronze green. |
Post Office Telecommunications
The name Post Office Telephones was used until about October 1969 when the Post Office ceased to be a government department. This new division in the 'Post Office Corporation' became Post Office Telecommunications with the trade mark yellow Commer vans. The change from mid-bronze green vans was mainly for safety (visibility) reasons, but the new image branding helped to reflect the changed identity and to show that the telephone business was a separate part of the Post Office.
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Post Office Telecommunications livery was double-lined red lettering on telecom-yellow. |
Post Office Telecommunications operated as a division within the Post Office Corporation (a nationalised industry). The telecoms part of the business was still very much under Post Office control, but the separate divisions of Post Office Telecommunications and Post Office services had their own headquarters, THQ (telecoms) and PHQ (postal).
As the separation of Post and Telecoms gathered pace, the new identity of British Telecom was unveiled to the press in May 1980. The new logo was progressively introduced on vans, telephone kiosks and stationery until the new corporation was officially declared.
British Telecom
On 1st October 1981, Post Office Telecommunications officially became 'British Telecom' a separate corporation, but was still designated: 'British Telecom-part of the Post Office'. British Telecom had a separate budget, but remained under Post Office control. However, this changed after vesting day on 1st April 1984 as British Telecom became the trading name for the privatised company British Telecommunications plc- entirely separate from the Post Office.
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British Telecom... livery was blue lettering on telecom-yellow. |
BT Piper Livery
In April 1991, to reflect its potential worldwide market, BT became the new trading name of British Telecommunications plc. The government no longer had any (significant) financial holding in BT, but the company was expected to trade within the guidelines set out by the regulatory body OFTEL ( OFfice of TELecommunications) which was appointed by the government.
The familiar 'Piper' logo symbolised the 'listening and speaking' concepts of communication.
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White reflective BT (Piper) logo on grey van with some black/blue lettering. |
In December 1999, a stronger brand was created by changing the vans from grey to white and displaying a bold red and blue Piper.
As reported in the press:
British Telecom is to revamp its £50 million piper logo in an attempt to make the telecomms giant more friendly and less remote. The new logo will look exactly the same but sport a "warmer and deeper" blue and a "brighter" red. The logo's background will be changed from grey to white "to show off the trumpeting figure more effectively". Said a BT spokesman: "The whole exercise is about moving with the times and freshening up our image."
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Red and blue BT (Piper) logo on white van with some black/blue lettering. |
BT Global Livery
In April 2003, BT's 'Connected World' logo, previously used only by BT Openworld and developed by Wolff Ollins, replaced the older 'Piper' logo company wide.
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BT (globe) logo on white van with some black/blue lettering. |
Openreach
A BT Group Business
With increasing demand for 'Local Loop Unbundling' and more open access to the 'final mile' of BT's network, it was agreed with the regulator that a separate company would be established to allow 'equivalent access' to all service providers.
Openreach was launched by BT on the 11th January 2006
"Openreach is a new multi-billion pound business that will be responsible for the nationwide local BT network. It is set to become a familiar household name as it will contain BT's field force of 25,000 engineers. These engineers make more than 3.5 million home visits every year on behalf of hundreds of companies. They are the men and women who install new lines, upgrade the local network and maintain the green cabinets at the side of the road. In short, they are the people who ensure that tens of millions of people across the UK have reliable local access to telephony and internet services."
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Openreach lower case lettering on white van, with 'wavy line' vinyls. |
A consequence of the change is that the BT fleet of vans which were once a commonplace sight on the street, have now effectively become Openreach vans, albiet they are still 'A BT Group Business'.
Payphones - End of the Line?
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A look at the changing face of telephones on the street. |
Further Reading
Visit the Light Straw ATE (Automatic Telephone Exchange) for more telephone history.
Visit the Light Straw TEC (Telecom Engineering Centre) for more vehicle history.
All logos and trade marks are the property of their respective owners and are used on the Light Straw site(s) for review only. Students and researchers are recommended to make their own independent enquiries as to the accuracy of the information contained therein.