The origins of the telephone in Hong Kong
HF: The telephone was first introduced to Hong Kong in 1877 and the first manual telephone exchange was started by the Oriental Telephone & Electric Co. in 1822. The modest reach of this technology in that era can be appreciated by a short list of subscribers published in an 1891 issue of the China Mail, which includes only a few companies and even fewer individuals. Amongst the early adopters, like Jardine Matheson and Kowloon Wharf, are a number of future Steiner & Co. clients: Hong Kong Land Investment & Agency Co. Ltd, Butterfield & Swire, the Hongkong & Shanghai Banking Corporation and Hong Kong Hotel.
Thomas Edison, founder of the Oriental Telephone Company, undated. Source: americasbesthistory.com
In 1925, the Hong Kong Telephone Company, a subsidiary of Cable & Wireless, was granted a 50 year franchise to run local telephone services.(1)
The Hong Kong Telephone Company (H.K. Tel Co., now a subsidiary of HKT PCCW Group) was established on 24th June 1925. The company has played a pivotal role in Hong Kong’s telecommunications industry over the past century.
Sixty or seventy years ago – and even earlier – telephones were a luxury few could afford, primarily found in affluent households or corporate offices. The Hong Kong Telephone Company offered 30 distinct telephone models, ranging from the early wooden bell-box to Bakelite and later plastic models.
In the 1950s, the company introduced the Hong Kong Company No. 7A (from the GEC model in the 1930s) colloquially as the ”Taipan telephone.” This name originated from its exclusive use by taipans, the high-ranking executives or company owners. The No.7A system consisted of a main unit and an extension. [The telephone pictured here is an extension unit. When a call came into a company’s front desk, the secretary would answer on the main unit at her desk and transfer the call to the boss’s extension] (2)
HK Telephone Company 7A This image is of ”an extension unit”. Source: facebook
Before the iPhones, Androids and other smart phones we have today. Back in the 1980s most Hongkongers depended on landlines at home or in the office. Without a portable phone stepping out meant losing connection with your colleagues or loved ones.
Early Hong Kong mobile phone. Source: scmp.com
The first generation of mobile phones in Hong Kong were bulky, heavy and very expensive, earning them the nickname ”Big Brother” in Chinese.(3)
Sources:
1. Zolima Citymag
2. Facebook
3. SCMP
1.Sources: (as above)
2.This article was first posted on 12th November 2025.
3.Related Indhhk articles:
a) Hong Kong Telephone Building, Nathan Road
b) The Hongkong Telephone Company, 1925 to 1933, Far Eastern Review article
c) The demise of payphones in the MTR (and elsewhere) – the writing is literally on the wall