The introduction of automatic telephone service in Madrid

On 29 December 1926, His Majesty King Alfonso XIII, accompanied by His Royal Highness the Infante Fernando and the President of the Spanish government, General Primo de Rivera, presided at the inaugural formalities of the automatic telephone service in the city of Madrid. The formal ceremony was held at the exchange located in the district of Salamanca. This event was the culmination of a project designed by the International Telephone and Telegraph Corporation (IT&T) and carried out by the Compania Telefonica Nacional de Espana (CTNE) in just 16 months. A totally independent and entirely new telephone plant was installed together with the existing one, so the substitution of automatic for manual service was done in one effort, in contrast to the general and common practice in other large cities. The installation of equipment in the local exchanges, the laying of the underground cable network, the placement of telephones at subscribers´ houses, and also the construction of new buildings were done simultaneously in a well-planned and coordinated way. And amazingly, no detail was forgotten. Even an advertising campaign to instruct the subscribers in the proper use of the dial instrument was organized and successfully implemented.