[en] Luxembourg’s telephone system struggled with a lack of capacity for subscriber lines and connections from its very early days in the 1880s. Drawing on a broad notion of maintenance, the chapter argues that for about 110 years, the postal administration tried to fix the capacity of the telephone network by introducing various new switching technologies. This approach to maintaining capacity gradually transformed the network from a system in which Luxembourg City served as the central hub – a pattern that the telephone system inherited from existing communication infrastructures such as main roads, trains, and the telegraph – to a less hierarchical network. The “technical time” of the telephone initially followed the “geographical time” that had been inscribed in these older networks, thereby perpetuating centuries-old hierarchies between core and periphery. It was only in the 1970s with the introduction of digital switching technology that a new chapter of communication technology was opened, offering equal access to the network for rural and smaller urban areas outside the capital.
Disciplines :
History
Author, co-author :
KREBS, Stefan ; University of Luxembourg > Luxembourg Centre for Contemporary and Digital History (C2DH) > Public History and Outreach
MOSSOP, Rebecca ; University of Luxembourg > Luxembourg Centre for Contemporary and Digital History > Public History and Outreach > Team Stefan KREBS
External co-authors :
no
Language :
English
Title :
The “technical time” of the Luxembourgish telephone system: about the transformative power of maintenance
Publication date :
2024
Main work title :
Communication Maintenance in Longue Durée
Author, co-author :
Balbi, Gabriele
Leggero, Alberto
Publisher :
Routledge, New York, United States
ISBN/EAN :
9781032543697
Pages :
63-79
Peer reviewed :
Peer reviewed
FnR Project :
FNR12547405 - Repairing Technology – Fixing Society? History Of Maintenance And Repair In Luxembourg (1918-1990), 2018 (01/09/2019-28/02/2023) - Stefan Krebs
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