<P> Western Electric experimented as early as 1941 with methods of using mechanically activated reeds to produce two tones for each of the ten digits and by the late 1940s such technology was field - tested in a No. 5 Crossbar switching system in Pennsylvania . But the technology proved unreliable and it was not until long after the invention of the transistor when push - button technology matured . On 18 November 1963 , after approximately three years of customer testing , the Bell System in the United States officially introduced dual - tone multi-frequency ( DTMF ) technology under its registered Touch - Tone mark . Over the next few decades touch - tone service replaced traditional pulse dialing technology and it eventually became a world - wide standard for telecommunication signaling . </P>
<P> Western Electric experimented as early as 1941 with methods of using mechanically activated reeds to produce two tones for each of the ten digits and by the late 1940s such technology was field - tested in a No. 5 Crossbar switching system in Pennsylvania . But the technology proved unreliable and it was not until long after the invention of the transistor when push - button technology matured . On 18 November 1963 , after approximately three years of customer testing , the Bell System in the United States officially introduced dual - tone multi-frequency ( DTMF ) technology under its registered Touch - Tone mark . Over the next few decades touch - tone service replaced traditional pulse dialing technology and it eventually became a world - wide standard for telecommunication signaling . </P>
when did the first touch tone phone come out
when did the first touch tone phone come out
18 November 1963
18 November 1963