AT&T Archives: Family of Products (1985)

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An examination of the telephone products available to the consumer, circa 1985. At this point in the history of the company, the focus of the business was still in flux — for instance, they had just introduced their first personal computer, running on UNIX. And the company had just restructured their long-distance rates due to the new competition from the breakup of the Bell System.

But telephones — and telephone service — remained the core product. This film profiles some of the "family" the company offered at the time:

Corded Phones
Cordless Phones
Phone "enhancement" devices
Do-It-Yourself products


This film was obviously made for a consumer audience, but in what context, it's not clear — where would have John Q. Public have seen this film? That said, it's a great time-capsule — mid-'80s semi-humorous skits illustrating the devices involved.

Footage courtesy of AT&T Archives and History Center, Warren, NJ