302 telephone sets with a new modern housing that had a look-alike appearance to the 500 models, but were electrically identical to the older 302 telephones. This program commenced in 1955, and the converted set was labeled as the model 5302 telephone. It was produced until the mid-1960s in the refurbishing shops of each Bell Operating Company, not on the assembly lines of Western Electric factories. From the 1949 field trials until 1953, only black sets of the 500-type telephone were manufactured. Telephones in color were introduced in several stages from 1954 until 1957, as manufacturing capability was refined and material selection processes were completed. In the 1960s, after the introduction of touch-tone service in November 1963 in various locations of the telephone network, the basic 500-type chassis was retrofitted with a new push-button keypad, housing, and faceplate to create the model 1500; the 12-button model 2500 was introduced in 1968. The 1970s brought the conversion to modular connector technology, replacing the hard-wired cords with cords terminated on both ends with 4P4C connectors for the handset cord and 6P4C plugs for the line cord. Ownership and AT&T divestiture As with most telephones in the United States, the 500-series telephones were owned by the local Bell Operating Company and leased on a monthly basis to customers. Choices for telephone styles and colors were limited. AT&T, the principal owner of the operating companies and Western Electric, strictly enforced policies against buying and using telephone sets by other manufacturers on their network to ensure the technical integrity of their network and avoid competition. Most phones made by Western Electric, starting in about 1968, carried this disclaimer molded into their housing: "BELL SYSTEM PROPERTY--NOT FOR SALE." Telephones were also sometimes labeled with a sticker or ink stamp marking the operating company's name that owned the phone. After consumers started buying telephones from other manufacturers, in the wake of legal developments not favoring AT&T's ban against third-party equipment, AT&T changed its policy for the Design Line telephone series by selling customers the telephone housing but retaining ownership of the electrical components, so customers were still required to pay AT&T a monthly leasing fee. In 1983, after the court ordered the Bell System divestiture, AT&T started selling telephone sets outright to the public through its newly created American Bell division. Many customers were offered the option to buy the leased telephones they had in service. AT&T