| dc.description.abstract | Abstract
The stated goal for this thesis was to discover and study how the transition from manual to automatic telephone exchange at Arendal Telefonselskap (Arendal telephone company) played out and how this process compared to the process of other Norwegian telephone companies, and then determine if the process at Arendal Telefonselskap was typical or atypical in a Norwegian context. Arendal Telefonselskap is mostly uncharted water when it comes to historical studies, so my main source of information is the company’s own archives at Statsarkivet in Kristiansand, Norway.
This thesis includes information on Arendal Telefonselskaps economics in the period 1914 – 1935 and a possible sale to the government in 1920 due to losing money. How that deal fell through, and the company lifted itself again economically while upgrading their equipment and cable network. It takes a close look at the contract that was signed with Elektrisk Bureau for the automatic exchange and how that work developed and progressed. It takes a look at the result of the change and how the automatic exchange was not the instant lifesaver that they had hoped.
After that the thesis will compare that newly gathered information about Arendal Telefonselskap and compare it to three other companies and their experience with switching to the automatic exchange. The three companies in question are Oslo telefonanlegg, Bergen Telefonkompagni and Hamar Telefonforening. Comparisons will be made on size (how many subscribers and so on), if it is privately or publicly owned, technological solutions and choices, motivation for switching to the automatic exchange, result of the switch and if they follow the same pattern of development or not.
After comparing these four companies and their development my conclusion was that Arendal Telefonselskap is rather typical when it comes to Norwegian telephone companies. It has some areas where it differs from the others, but not in such a big way that I would call it exceptional or atypical.
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