Tales from the Wires: My Hidden Adventures in British Telecoms

By Mark Crosby

Introduction

Growing up in 80s and 90s Britain, I was never content to just use technology; I wanted to know how it all worked. Especially the hidden infrastructure beneath everyday life; the phone network, the broadcast signals, the mysterious wires running into our homes. I didn't know it at the time, but my curious teenage self was inadvertently poking at the edges of Britain's vast, secretive telecom network; and sometimes slipping straight through the cracks.

These are my stories. Some might call it mischief. Others might say it's history. Either way, it's part of how I ended up running my own "pirate" media empire today with Retro Mix Radio and EssexMedia.tv. But it all started with curiosity, a phone line, and a lot of unanswered questions.

Rediffusion & Early Broadcast Curiosity

In our house, we had the old Rediffusion wired TV system with the channel switch bizarrely stuck to the wall near the telly. It fascinated me how they piped TV through the streets, almost like radio by wire. But what really got my attention was the Premier channel; a subscription-only service with scrambled audio.

It didn't take me long to figure out that the scrambled audio was still there; you just couldn't hear it through the TV. But by connecting a loudspeaker directly to the wall switcher; crystal clear sound. It was my first taste of how easily broadcast systems could be bent with a little lateral thinking.

Phreaking & Phone System Mischief

As a curious teen, the phone system was irresistible. I discovered that before Telewest properly rolled out the 1471 Caller Return feature, you could "trick" the system by dialling 1471, then hitting recall (the flash button). It let me call back prank callers before they even knew 1471 was active. I imagine I caused more than a few nervous teenagers to rethink their prank call careers.

From there, it snowballed. I dabbled with blue boxes, explored international 0800 numbers; especially the mysterious 0800 890xxx range; and even stumbled onto strange operator lines through sequences like 0044 followed by long strings of zeros. Some of these lines connected to real human operators who refused to identify themselves. To this day, I suspect some were linked to maritime or government systems.

I also discovered the world of VMBs (Voice Mailboxes) and the hidden world of loop lines; pairs of phone numbers that, when dialled together, connected strangers for impromptu chats. I'd heard about them in the US, but to my surprise, the UK had them too; you just had to know where to look.

BBC & Broadcast Infrastructure Oddities

One of my proudest "geek moments" was staying up late and catching the BBC's annual rebroadcasting test. Most people never noticed it, but every so often, the main lines to transmitters were deliberately disabled. Each transmitter switched to off-air rebroadcast mode, picking up the nearest BBC signal and relaying it. My local transmitter locked onto Crystal Palace; and I heard the moment it happened.

There were other oddities too; like late-night ITV relays rebroadcasting distant regional feeds when local signals dropped out. Likely a quirk of the same emergency rebroadcast system, triggered by atmospheric conditions and a bit of engineering logic.

The Cold War Layer Beneath Everyday Services

As I got older and more clued-up, I realised much of what I'd stumbled onto wasn't just telecom mischief; it was peeking behind the curtain of Cold War infrastructure. The speaking clock, for example, wasn't just for setting your watch; it doubled as a national line test and was woven into the UK's early warning systems.

The BBC had its WTBS (Wartime Broadcasting Service), ready to kick in after a nuclear strike. Transmitters had fallback modes to stay on air even if central control was obliterated. The Carrier Control Points and hidden tones in broadcasts weren't science fiction; they were quietly ticking away, waiting for a day no one wanted to see.

Reflection: From Mischief to Media

Looking back, those late-night experiments, half-understood phone tricks, and radio curiosities all fed into who I am today. I run Retro Mix Radio; an independent online station; and EssexMedia.tv, a local TV service with its own hidden resilience. Some might call that modern-day pirate radio; I just see it as carrying on the tradition.

The infrastructure may have changed, but the curiosity; that never goes away.

Want More Forgotten Tech History?

This is just a snapshot. I've got plenty more stories; from payphone hacks to Cold War broadcast quirks to the telecom oddities most people never noticed.

If you've got your own tales from the wires, or just enjoy the hidden history of Britain's tech infrastructure, stick around. There's plenty more to come.

Mark Crosby

www.markcrosby.co.uk | www.retromixradio.co.uk | www.essexmedia.tv