Page "TAE connector" Paragraph 4

The TAE system was introduced in the late 1980s before the German government-owned institution Deutsche Bundespost ( DBP, German Federal Post ) was divided into Deutsche Post ( postal service ), Deutsche Telekom ( telecommunication services ) and Postbank ( financial services ).

Previously, the older ADo type connectors had been used, or telephones had been hardwired to their ( VDo ) wall sockets, and only officially approved telephones ( legally distributable only by the DBP ) were allowed to be connected to the telephone system.

Furthermore, telephones and other communication devices could only be leased from the DBP and not be sold or bought on the free market.