Make Someone Happy gives a potted and selective history of British Telecom with a particular focus on its independence from the Post Office in 1981 and the privatisation that took place from 1984 onwards. The four collages are created using photocopies of images sources from the internet and photographs of family items.
We’re Here to Help You
In 1912, the General Post Office, a government department, became the monopoly telecoms supplier in the United Kingdom. The Post Office Act of 1969 led to the GPO becoming a public corporation. British Telecommunications, trading as British Telecom, was formed in 1980, and became independent of the Post Office in 1981. At one stage, the telephone service employed around 1% of the whole of Britain's working population - about 250,000 people. British Telecommunications was privatised in 1984, becoming British Telecommunications plc, with some 50 percent of its shares sold to investors. The Government sold its remaining stake in further share sales in 1991 and 1993.
Make Someone Happy
In May 1976 the Post Office, introduced Buzby and his slogan: Make someone happy with a cheap rate phone call. Buzby was used for nine years until April 1985. Mrs Beattie Bellman (played by Maureen Lipman) was created by the J Walter Thompson advertising agency in 1987. She was originally to have been called Dora.
It’s Good to Talk
Iain Vallance (Baron Vallance of Tummel) joined the Post Office in 1966 (his father had been Scottish Director). He was appointed chief executive in 1986 after securing the privatisation of BT, and was made Chairman the following year. Under Sir Iain's stewardship, BT implemented a massive programme of job cuts. Around 100,000 people lost their jobs and the firm's workforce nearly halved in its first 14 years as a plc.
Say It with Words
The One Per Desk, or OPD, was a hybrid Personal computer/telecommunications terminal launched in the UK in 1984. It was the result of a collaborative project between ICL,Sinclair Research and British Telecom begun in 1981. British Telecom Business Systems sold the OPD as the Merlin M1800 Tonto (The Outstanding New Telecoms Opportunity). BT intended the Tonto to be a centralised desktop information system able to access online services, mainframes and other similar systems through the BT telephone network but the power supply unit was unreliable and often failed. BT withdrew support for the Tonto in February 1993.