NATIONAL TELEPHONE COMPANY (NTC)
COMPANY HISTORY

THE NATIONAL TELEPHONE CO., LTD.

The National Telephone Company (NTC) was a British telephone company from 10th March 1881 until 1911, formed as a subsidiary of the United Telephone Company Ltd (UTC).

The Company was formed originally to exploit the market in Scotland, the Midlands and Ireland.

The UTC wanted to expand and tried to create a new company, but the Government declined them a license to operate services. Because of this the UTC merged with the Lancashire and Cheshire Telephonic Exchange Companies (capital £250,000) in May 1889 and the Northern District Telephone Company (capital £100,000) in December 1889, all being absorbed in the NTC company.

The NTC continued to amalgamate and in 1890 absorbed the Northern District Telephone Company and the South of England Telephone Company, in 1892 the Western Counties and South Wales Company and the Sheffield Telephone Exchange and Electric Light Company and in 1893 the Telephone Company of Ireland Limited. The NTC also took over many other smaller telephone companies.

NTC then formed the company into eight districts; Metropolitan, Southern, Western, Midland, North-Western, Northern, Scotland and Ireland.

Following the Telegraph Acts of 1892 and 1896, NTC trunk lines were acquired and transferred to the Post Office between 1896 and 1897.  In 1901, an agreement was signed between the Postmaster General and the NTC which was designed to prevent unnecessary duplication of plant and wasteful competition in London.

In 1905, the Postmaster General and the NTC signed a further agreement for the purchase of the NTC's telephone system on the expiry of its licence on 31st December 1911, an option granted to the Post Office that formed a part of the original licence agreement of 1881.

On 31 December 1911 the NTC ceased to formally trade. The Postmaster General took over the NTC completely and the National Telephone Company passed into liquidation.

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Last revised: December 05, 2023