In the twenty-third year of the Meiji Period (1890), the single-line single switch made in Belgium, which was used at the start, was the most simple type of machine connecting two telephones via manual operation of the operator. However the telephone line was a single line made from iron and because of cross talk and induction interference between lines, the quality was very bad. In 1893, the production of domestic switches began and around 1900, improved switches with multiple lines were introduced. These magnetic single switches were used widely as the standard switch for small offices in rural areas until 1979, when total automation was completed throughout Japan.

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