Coventry University has been awarded almost £745,000 by JISC (Joint Information Systems Committee) to digitise the physical archives of BT, formerly known as British Telecom, the world's oldest telecommunications company.

The New Connections: BT e-Archive project, in partnership with BT Heritage and The National Archives, aims to catalogue, digitise and develop a searchable online archive of almost half a million photographs, documents and correspondence held in the BT Archives. The collection is preserved, with some limited public access, mostly in London and covers 165 years, from 1846 to the present day. It charts the history of Britain’s leading role in the development of telecommunications and the impact of telecommunications on society.

The archive is also significant both in its range of subjects, from industrial and gender relations in the workplace, advertising and social change to science and technology, and in its extensive geographical coverage: the whole of the UK, as well as Southern Ireland until 1921, the Channel Islands until 1973, and the UK’s communications with countries across the globe.

The collection notably includes the arrangements for the transmission of Disraeli’s ‘one nation’ speech from Manchester in 1872, details of the introduction of the telephone to the UK by Alexander Graham Bell in 1877 and of the installation of the telephone at Buckingham Palace, Sandringham and Windsor Castle from 1892. There are also photographs of the first UK telephone exchange in 1878, the Duke of Edinburgh making an early mobile phone call in 1955 and the Queen making the first automatic long distance telephone call from Bristol to Edinburgh (the longest distance a call could be dialled without the assistance of an operator) in December 1958.

Professor Neil Forbes, Director of Research at Coventry University explained the importance of the project:

The modern age has been shaped by telecommunications, and the history of Britain’s leading role in the development of this technology and its impact on society is contained in the internationally-important BT Archives. This project will enable academic, heritage and digital technology specialists at Coventry University and at BT Heritage to bring their knowledge and expertise to the challenge of opening the collection for academic and public engagement and enjoyment. Coventry University welcomes the opportunity offered by this JISC funding to work with BT and The National Archives to make this collection accessible to all.

Programme Manager at JISC, Paola Marchionni, explained the consortium’s decision to finance the New Connections project:

The international importance of BT Archives was recognised by UNESCO, so JISC felt it was important to make it accessible for the benefit of researchers and learners working not just in telecommunication, but in a range of disciplines from graphic design to business studies across the UK. This project is an excellent example of how partnership working between business and universities can be mutually beneficial and open up content for the benefit of students, researchers and the wider society.

From the archive

How the World Became Smaller

From pigeon post to the Internet - Dagmar Lorenz explains how the communications revolution has produced the global village.