completion - Austria / II. Republic of Austria 1972 - 2 Shilling

The illustration on the special postage stamp shows the schematic representation of the Austrian telephone network. Efforts to fully automate it already existed in 1910, with the trial center in Graz. Although local traffic in all major Austrian cities was automated by the end of the Second World War, these changes were severely damaged by the war. Due to bombing the network was even completely paralyzed, but it could be resumed in mid-July 1945, the operation again. The invention of the coaxial cable enabled full automation between Vienna and St. Gallen to be completed by 1955. With the introduction of the "dialing system 48" (uniform system conditions for national and international self-dialing traffic), another step towards full expansion in Austria was made. From 1957 to 1959 finally all provincial capitals were connected to the self-dialing traffic. Parallel to the cable network, Austrian Post also began to expand the radio relay network, which officially went into operation in 1959. By the 1964 adopted "telephone operating investment law" and the mobilization of all forces could on 14 December 1972 with the inclusion of the Lower Austrian town of Karlstein on the Thaya, the full automation of the Austrian self-dialing successfully completed.