Day of issue : 21-09-2006
Printing process : Offset
Number in Sheet : 10
Printer : Osterreichische Staatsdruckerei
Size : 35,71 x 30,00 mm
Designer : Tryggvi T. Tryggvason
Value : 65 ISK
In 1861 the Icelandic Althing passed a bill authorizing the laying of a submarine telephone cable to Iceland and its use for 90 years. The bill was not confirmed by the king of Denmark and Iceland had to wait for the telephone for many decades. Finally an agreement was reached on the laying of a telecommunication cable to Iceland to be completed in the fall of 1906. 534 miles of submarine cables were laid connecting the East of Iceland to the Shetlands and Faroes. The telephone station in Seydisfjardar was inaugurated on August 24th, 1906. A telephone line, 614 km in length, was then laid from Reykjavik to the north of the country and finally to Seydisfjordur. The telephone quickly became hugely popular. It created new business opportunities and played its part in domesticating wholesale activities which had mostly been run by foreigners. The Icelandic Telephone Company was a state-run institution until 1997 when it was privatized. Already in 1986 every other Icelander was a registered telephone user.
