How much did a telephone cost in 1951?

Answer 1

Each country is different. Certainly here in the UK you couldn't actually buy a telephone in 1951. All equipment was rented from the telephone company. It was the same in the US. Not until the late 1980's were phones sold.

Answer 2

Telephones weren't sold, but rented (or leased, the monthly payment was the same and did not go towards ownership). I don't know all of the plans that were available, but I think every call was billed per minute of call. Long distance calls for poor people were very expensive. For my family it was cheaper to send an occasional telegram than it was to make long distance calls across country. It was cheaper to have a party line, which means two or more families shared the same line. This was annoying because you were subjected to other people's private conversations.

Answer 3

It cost around $2 in 1914. That would be around $100 today. There were only wall phones then and no cordless ones, either. Any call outside your town would cost 'toll' fees.

Answer 4

Local call was 10 cents. More for long distance calls.