The history of the telephone in Lapland from the 1880s to the 1990s

Authors

• Juha Saunavaara Hokkaido University Arctic Research Center https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9988-9174
• Ritva Kylli Oulun yliopisto https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5047-2714

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.33355/tw.144516

Keywords:

Telephone service, telephony, Lapland

Abstract

This article examines the history of the telephone within the unique context of the northern regions, focusing on the northernmost parts of Finland, particularly the area of the Province of Lapland established in 1938. The article offers the first comprehensive study of the development of the telephone and related infrastructure in Lapland. Besides analyzing the spread of the telephone network and technical innovations, the article elaborates the influence of prevailing environmental conditions in northern Finland on the telephone. The study highlights both the delay with which the reforms introduced in southern Finland reached the north, and the role of Lapland as a region where new technologies and applications were tested and developed. In addition to the history of technology, the research is connected to social, economic, and environmental history as well as to questions concerning regional policy. Archival documents, newspaper and magazine articles and oral histories gathered through interviews have been used as a source material.