<P> Telecommunications in India began with the introduction of the telegraph . The Indian postal and telecom sectors are one of the worlds oldest . In 1850, the first experimental electric telegraph line was started between Calcutta and Diamond Harbour . In 1851, it was opened for the use of the British East India Company . The Posts and Telegraphs department occupied a small corner of the Public Works Department, at that time . </P> <P> The construction of 4,000 miles (6,400 km) of telegraph lines was started in November 1853 . These connected Kolkata (then Calcutta) and Peshawar in the north; Agra, Mumbai (then Bombay) through Sindwa Ghats, and Chennai (then Madras) in the south; Ootacamund and Bangalore . William O'Shaughnessy, who pioneered the telegraph and telephone in India, belonged to the Public Works Department, and worked towards the development of telecom throughout this period . A separate department was opened in 1854 when telegraph facilities were opened to the public . </P> <P> In 1880, two telephone companies namely The Oriental Telephone Company Ltd. and The Anglo - Indian Telephone Company Ltd. approached the Government of India to establish telephone exchange in India . The permission was refused on the grounds that the establishment of telephones was a Government monopoly and that the Government itself would undertake the work . In 1881, the Government later reversed its earlier decision and a licence was granted to the Oriental Telephone Company Limited of England for opening telephone exchanges at Calcutta, Bombay, Madras and Ahmedabad and the first formal telephone service was established in the country . On 28 January 1882, Major E. Baring, Member of the Governor General of India's Council declared open the Telephone Exchanges in Calcutta, Bombay and Madras . The exchange in Calcutta named the "Central Exchange" had a total of 93 subscribers in its early stage . Later that year, Bombay also witnessed the opening of a telephone exchange . </P> <Ul> <Li> Pre-1902--Cable telegraph </Li> <Li> 1902--First wireless telegraph station established between Sagar Island and Sandhead . </Li> <Li> 1907--First Central Battery of telephones introduced in Kanpur . </Li> <Li> 1913--1914--First Automatic Exchange installed in Shimla . </Li> <Li> 1927--Radio - telegraph system between the UK and India, with Imperial Wireless Chain beam stations at Khadki and Daund . Inaugurated by Lord Irwin on 23 July by exchanging greetings with King George V . </Li> <Li> 1933--Radiotelephone system inaugurated between the UK and India . </Li> <Li> 1953--12 channel carrier system introduced . </Li> <Li> 1960--First subscriber trunk dialling route commissioned between Lucknow and Kanpur . </Li> <Li> 1975--First PCM system commissioned between Mumbai City and Andheri telephone exchanges . </Li> <Li> 1976--First digital microwave junction . </Li> <Li> 1979--First optical fibre system for local junction commissioned at Pune . </Li> <Li> 1980--First satellite earth station for domestic communications established at Sikandarabad, U.P. . </Li> <Li> 1983--First analogue Stored Programme Control exchange for trunk lines commissioned at Mumbai . </Li> <Li> 1984--C - DOT established for indigenous development and production of digital exchanges . </Li> <Li> 1995--First mobile telephone service started on non-commercial basis on 15 August 1995 in Delhi . </Li> <Li> 1995--Internet Introduced in India starting with Laxmi Nagar, Delhi 15 August 1995 </Li> </Ul>

When was the first telephone service launched in india