1980 Northern Telecom Field Trial “Preference” Phone FT-113 NT0C00AA-26
Received on August 30, 2025, from the personal collection of Clifford D. Read,
Industrial Designer – Bell-Northern Research (BNR).
Overview
The Northern Telecom FT-113 is a field trial telephone developed around 1980 as part of Northern Telecom’s product testing program. Before introducing a new telephone to the public, the company would build a small number of test units and place them in real homes and businesses to evaluate their performance and gather customer feedback.
Unlike production telephones, field trial models were never intended for retail sale, making surviving examples extremely uncommon today.
About the FT-113
Although very little documentation has survived, the FT-113 represents an important stage in Northern Telecom’s design process. It allowed engineers and designers to test new ideas under everyday conditions before deciding whether a product was ready for full production.
Many features that eventually appeared on later Northern Telecom telephones were refined during field trials like this one. While the FT-113 itself was never commercially released, it played a valuable role in the company’s ongoing research and development efforts.
Industrial Design Concepts by Cliff Read
Included with this FT-113 telephone are two original concept drawings created by Clifford D. Read, Industrial Designer at Bell-Northern Research (BNR). These sketches provide a rare look into the early design process behind Northern Telecom products, showing how ideas evolved before becoming physical prototypes or field trial units.
Concept drawings like these were an important part of product development, allowing designers and engineers to explore different shapes, features, and user experiences before finalizing a design. Together with the FT-113 telephone, these drawings help document the creative work that took place behind the scenes at BNR during the development of new telecommunications products.
A Rare Piece of Northern Telecom History
This telephone is especially significant because it comes directly from the collection of Cliff Read, one of Bell-Northern Research’s industrial designers. Its documented provenance adds to its historical importance and provides a direct connection to Northern Telecom’s design team.
Field trial telephones rarely survive, making the FT-113 an excellent example of the behind-the-scenes work involved in developing new telecommunications products during the early 1980s.
Functionality
The phone remains fully operational for basic telephone functions.
It can:
Make outgoing calls.
Receive incoming calls and ring normally.
The visual call display is currently not working.
The internal rechargeable batteries are likely no longer holding a charge due to the phone’s age.
The phone is approximately 46 years old.