Service automation

The introduction of automatic service was key to the development of the telephone service, providing faster and more reliable communications. Santander was the first city to introduce the automation of the telephone service, the inauguration of which was presided over by King Alfonso XIII on 26 August. And it was in December of that year when the monarch also inaugurated it in Madrid, in a new headquarters on Gran Vía, provisionally installed in a building next to what would be the future headquarters of the company, the tallest skyscraper in Europe, which begins construction in this year. At the monarch's inauguration in Madrid, with 200 guests, a demonstration was given which achieved long-distance communication over a circuit of 3,800 km, the longest ever tested in Europe, equivalent to the distance between Madrid and Moscow, and over which the voice would be intelligible and clear. Soon, other provincial capitals such as Seville and Bilbao were receiving the automation of the service.

New properties and more than 100,000 telephones installed

A year and a half after starting the adventure, in 1926 we already have more than 100,000 devices in service, and Telefónica continues to focus on developing infrastructures, networks, exchanges, circuits... The installation of automatic centres and other systems made it necessary to acquire suitable buildings for these infrastructures. This year see the start of an extensive building and property acquisition programme throughout Spain, which was to continue in the following years.

Connect people’s lives wherever they are

Already a priority this year is to improve communications with neighbouring countries. In 1926 Telefónica manages to extend communications to Bordeaux and Paris, and a few months earlier had begun negotiations with Portugal for the exchange of the telephone service. In addition, arrangements were being made for exchanges with Gibraltar and the Protectorate in Morocco.