Over the last 40 years: Talkman, which was marveled at on the worksite
The era of landline phones was still going strong when in 1985, Raumaster Oy purchased its first mobile phone. It was a significant investment, as the Nokia Mobira Talkman car radio phone, operating on the NMT450 network at that time, cost approximately 17 000 Finnish marks.
In addition, a vehicle installation set was purchased. The ear piece was detached from the actual device, installed into the charging device located in the car boot, and the ear piece was plugged into the car socket. A year later, another similar mobile phone and vehicle installation set was acquired.
The total weight of the device was 5 kilograms, and the removable battery was promised to last for eight hours on single charge. The Talkman featured illuminated keys, a liquid crystal display (LCD) with ten digits, and a speed dial memory of 51 phone numbers. The transmitting power was 1.5-15W.
The phone was said to emit radiation, requiring users to keep a distance of the cord’s length from the antenna while speaking on the handset. The device also had a sticker indicating approval from Telehallintokeskus.
When Jouko Mäkilä traveled to worksite in Sweden with the phone, the installation arrangement contract stated that the phone did not need to be separately acquired, as Raumaster had its own. This caused fascination in advance, and representatives from the client visited the construction site office to marvel at the portable phone.
The phone functioned well both domestically and in Sweden, but the coverage of the NMT network area ended in Tallinn, Estonia. The investment proved to be viable in many ways, and it was an important part of mobile work, as it eliminated the need to stop and make calls, for example, from phone booths.
At that time, nobody could foretell how mobile phones would revolutionize everyday life over the following decades. Now in 2024, the employees of Raumaster enterprise group have access to nearly 500 mobile phone subscriptions and devices provided by the company.
