Rabbit
The Portable Phone That Could Make Calls but Not Receive Them
Forgotten Technology · 1992
Archived on
Associated With
Hutchison Personal Communications Ltd - inventor, developer or manufacturer
Defining Feature
CT2/CAI digital cordless service with home base stations and signed public access points
Status
Closed - Public service closed 31 December 1993
Overview
Rabbit was a UK public Telepoint service using digital cordless handsets rather than a cellular network.
Operated by Hutchison Personal Communications Ltd with CT2/CAI technology, it began in Greater Manchester on 21 May 1992. Subscribers could use a handset at home and make outgoing calls at signed public access points, but were not ordinarily reachable while away from home.
The public service closed on 31 December 1993.
Why It Mattered
Rabbit represented a brief British attempt to bridge the gap between the cordless phone at home, the payphone and the mobile handset. Its inability to receive ordinary calls through public access points limited its usefulness as cellular services became more competitive, but it remains a distinctive stage in the development of personal telecommunications in Britain.
How Telepoint Worked
- Subscribers used the handset with a CT2 home base station as a domestic cordless telephone.
- Away from home, calls could be placed within range of signed Rabbit public access points.
- Public use was ordinarily outgoing-only; pager and voice-messaging workarounds were reported.
Roll-out and the Wider Experiment
- Rabbit expanded through the Granada Television area from 9 July 1992 and began nationwide service in October 1992.
- Oftel recorded about 12,000 base stations at the start of nationwide service.
- It was the final active operator in the UK's four-service Telepoint experiment, alongside Phonepoint, Zonephone and Mercury Callpoint.
Closure and Surviving Equipment
- Hutchison Whampoa announced Rabbit’s closure on 5 November 1993; public service ended on 31 December 1993.
- Oftel subsequently reported that no public Telepoint service remained in operation in the UK.
- The Science Museum Group holds Rabbit set object 2005-107, comprising a handset, park-and-charge unit, home base station, documentation and carrying case.
Sources & Records
- Oftel — Annual report, 1992 — Dates Rabbit’s Manchester launch to 21 May 1992, records its regional and nationwide expansion, and explains the handset’s home cordless-phone use.
- Science Museum Group — Rabbit telephone and home base, 1993 — Documents Hutchison’s handset and home base and explains public-access-point calling and the short-lived service.
- Oftel — Annual report, 1993 — Records Rabbit’s closure on 31 December 1993, its weak take-up and the migration or equipment-buyback offers to customers.
- Science Museum Group — CT2 Telepoint development equipment — Explains the Telepoint system and identifies Rabbit as the last UK operator to withdraw, in 1993.
Gallery
Credit
ianVisits
Licence
Historical Ephemera
Displayed for commentary, criticism, research and historical documentation where permitted by applicable law. No permission for reuse is granted.
Caption
Rumbelows advertised Rabbit as an “ultimate cordless digital phone”, showing how the service was explained through familiar retail language.
Credit
Science Museum Group Collection
Licence
Historical Ephemera
Displayed for commentary, criticism, research and historical documentation where permitted by applicable law. No permission for reuse is granted.
Caption
The handset, base, guides and carry case show Rabbit as a kit to buy and learn, rather than simply a telephone number to subscribe to.
Credit
Hertfordshire Mercury
Licence
Historical Ephemera
Displayed for commentary, criticism, research and historical documentation where permitted by applicable law. No permission for reuse is granted.
Caption
A Rabbit access-point sign marked the places where the handset could connect away from its home base.
Credit
TV Film Props
Licence
Historical Ephemera
Displayed for commentary, criticism, research and historical documentation where permitted by applicable law. No permission for reuse is granted.
Caption
The retail box presents Rabbit’s handset and cordless system to prospective buyers at the point of sale.
Credit
Science Museum Group Collection
Licence
Historical Ephemera
Displayed for commentary, criticism, research and historical documentation where permitted by applicable law. No permission for reuse is granted.
Caption
A plush Rabbit mascot gave the telephone service a softer promotional identity alongside its network equipment.