162:, the improvements in services, and salary increases for workers. However, critics argued that APT was employing British managers, who occupied all the senior positions and were much more expensive than Portuguese ones. APT’s labour and other costs were rising rapidly, but its tariff was based on an annual rate, which was quickly losing value. In 1924, the government agreed that charges should be based on calls made rather than an annual fixed charge but this decision was reversed almost immediately, after numerous complaints. After the
131:, in 1920, who came from a British family living in Lisbon. The company experienced difficulties in retaining staff. In addition to strikes, there were some acts of sabotage and, in 1920, bomb attacks were made on the homes of two APT directors. The Porto exchange was also sabotaged. Strikes and sabotage were not just caused by perceived low wages; the employees were also vociferous about the conditions of their work and received support from the media. Under the authoritarian
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during World War II, expanding the number of subscribers was affected by the dislocation that the War caused, leading to new waiting lists from 1941 onwards that reached 15,000 in 1948. APT installed its 100,000th telephone in 1950. On
December 31, 1967, at the end of its contract, the Anglo-Portuguese Telephone Company ceased operating in Portugal, following a government decision to transfer the business to the Portuguese State. It was replaced by the public company,
471:"Carta de Sir Alexander Roger, da Anglo-Portuguese Telephone Company, dirigida ao Presidente da República, Francisco Higino Craveiro Lopes, agradecendo a audiência que lhe foi concedida, juntamente com o seu filho, ao Engenheiro António Franco Cabral, e ao Administrador Geral da empresa, R.S. Thorp, considerando ser um privilégio construir em Lisboa e no Porto sistemas de telefones e o sistema de transportes de Lisboa"
189:(General Administration of Posts, Telegraphs and Telephones – AGCTT or CTT) was the body responsible for supervising APT. In 1936, under pressure from AGCTT, APT was required to install meters to enable subscribers to check charges levied. In 1942, during a strike in APT, some directors of AGCTT argued for the nationalization of the company. In 1948, AGCTT opposed a request for a tariff increase, forcing
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into the
Portuguese parliament. In 1919, a company succeeded in winning damages for APT's failure to provide a service. In 1923, a subscriber won a court case after refusing to pay APT for the days when their phone was not working. Sometimes, delays in fixing problems were so long that businesses announced in the press when their phones had finally been reconnected.
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subscribers. During World War I the company experienced difficulties in obtaining phones, cable and other equipment. Connecting new subscribers was delayed and by 1920 APT had a waiting list of 3000, taking more than two and a half months to fulfil orders. Its performance was also affected by the fact that some of its staff were drafted into the military.
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established in 1934. A major cause of dissent was a contract that female telephone operators were required to sign, stating that "in case of contracting marriage will undertake to immediately leave the service of the
Company". This rule, which Portugal also applied to nurses, was introduced in the 1920s and was not ended until October 1940.
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During the first half of 1891, APT set up 64 lines in the city of Lisbon and made similar progress in Porto. By the turn of the century both Lisbon and Porto had over one thousand subscribers. In 1904 a connection between Lisbon and Porto was installed. When World War I broke out, APT had around 8000
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In 1887, Edison decided to create a specific telephone company for
Portugal. The contract with the government was changed, with the percentage to be paid by the new company now stipulated as 3% of the gross revenue. The new Anglo-Portuguese Telephone Company had two boards of directors, one based in
68:. The contract was signed in January 1882 and gave Edison exclusivity in the operation of telephone services in Lisbon and Porto for 20 years, with the Portuguese State able to implement a service elsewhere in the country. Services began in Lisbon in April 1882 and in Porto in July of the same year.
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had taken place. The APT demolished the hall and built its offices on the site and a few months later started to auction some of the contents of the theatre. This caused an outcry among the theatre-going public. An impresario, José Loureiro, then bought the theatre, which was not needed by APT, and
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The period from 1910 in
Portugal was one of much labour unrest. In November of that year, a strike was declared by APT workers, who demanded better wages and fewer hours of work. There were more strikes in 1911, 1912, 1918 (when APT employees formed a union), 1920, and 1924. The situation improved
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APT made some efforts to improve labour relations by providing company medical services. In 1938 it ran an anti-tuberculosis campaign. Staff training had been instituted in 1910, with a school for telephone operators, and APT set up a training section for all employees in 1927. A Pension Fund was
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Initially, subscribers' phones were connected to a manual exchange where calls were connected by an operator. From the 1920s, travellers were pointing out that many other
European countries already had direct dialling and complaints about APT's services began to make their way into newspapers and
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The number of subscribers increased rapidly as phones became more affordable, the service improved and the populations of Lisbon and Porto grew. Automation of telephone networks began in 1930 but full automation was not completed in Lisbon and Porto until the 1950s. Although
Portugal was neutral
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The first attempts by the
Portuguese government to attract a company to operate a telephone service in Lisbon and Porto were unsuccessful. This was probably because the government was expecting to receive 5% of the gross profits. The second tender resulted in only one proposal, from the
141:, called to protest the new laws, and there were no further strikes until one in 1942. At this time, the government requisitioned employees of utility companies into the military and threatened APT employees with being accused of desertion if they did not return to work.
84:, APT encountered a few early difficulties, including charges made by Lisbon City Council for using its roads to install telephone wires. However, the contract with the government was renewed in 1901. In 1927, the arrangements were extended until 1967.
176:, the company again renegotiated its contract. This agreement for a 40-year extension, which introduced tariffs per call but only for new subscribers, was signed in 1927. In 1928, the first international telephone connection was made to
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Due to rapid price inflation, the government permitted numerous increases in the tariff charged by APT between 1918 and 1923. The increases were justified by the company because of the devaluation of the
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in Lisbon sold it to the APT. The theatre had been opened in 1867. When it was originally constructed, there was a theatre and a separate hall, where events such as the first
Portuguese presentation of
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Under the agreement, the government would receive 7.125% of the company's net revenue. Edison was managed from
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360:"A introdução do telefone em Portugal - II Da Edison Gower Bell Telephone à The Anglo Portuguese Telephone Company (APT) (II)"
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263:"introdução do telefone em Portugal - I Da Edison Gower Bell Telephone à The Anglo Portuguese Telephone Company (APT) (I)"
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London and the other operating in Portugal. Members of the latter included Afonso de Serpa Leitão Freire Pimentel, 1st
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Administração Geral dos Correios, Telégrafos e Telefones
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Telecommunications companies disestablished in 1967
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Edison Gower-Bell Telephone Company of Europe, Ltd.
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112:Edison's
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23:An APT
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