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<p></p><p><strong>Iskra ATA 11 automatic telephone</strong></p><p> </p><p>Recent decades have seen extremely rapid technological advances in communications. An important role in this development has been played by Iskratel (formerly Iskra Kranj), which entered the telecommunications field in as long ago as 1947 with the development of key components for a new range of telephony products, swiftly followed by the first designs for telephone exchanges.</p><p> </p><p>The first Iskra telephones were made under licence from Siemens. Regular production began in 1948 with the ITV 1, an inductor telephone in a metal housing that was designed to be used by the state railway company and state institutions. The new ATA (Automatic Telephone Apparatus) series was unveiled in 1949. Bakelite began to be used for the cases and the ATA 1 was the first Iskra telephone designed for general use.</p><p> </p><p>Six years later two new models appeared on the market: the ATA 11 (with earthing button) and the ATA 12 (without) represented the next generation in Iskra's development. Unlike the ATA 1, these models boasted technical improvements developed in-house by Iskra, although their design was still based on a telephone produced by the Swiss manufacturer Albiswerk Zürich AG. </p><p> </p><p>The ATA 11 was an extremely popular telephone, with Iskra producing around 35,000 units a year in the early 1960s. It was also exported. Although the commonest colour was black, it was produced in seven different colours.</p><p> </p><p>Estera Cerar </p><p>Director of the Post Office and Telecommunications Museum, a unit of the Technical Museum of Slovenia</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p><br></p>