The Western Electric Model 500 telephone was the standard desk-style telephone set used by AT&T (the Bell System) in North America from late 1949 through the divestiture of AT&T in 1984. Many millions of Model 500 phones were produced and were a familiar sight in almost every home in North America. Numbers of Western Electric 500 phones are still in use today thanks to their durability and ample availability on the secondhand market at inexpensive prices. The basic phone's modular construction not only made manufacture and repair simple, but also made possible a large number of variants and derivatives with added features. Touch-Tone was introduced to home consumers in 1963 with the Western Electric model 1500 telephone, with only the 10 number keys. In 1968 the Western Electric model 2500 telephone was introduced. Similar to the model 1500, the model 2500 added the * and # keys; that model is still in production today by several manufacturers.
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