150 year old service is terminated forever
Nowadays it is actually only known from films like “Saving Private Ryan” or “Murder on the Orient Express”: For many years, the telegram was one of the fastest ways to send messages. At the end of the year, Deutsche Post will close this important chapter in the history of technology.
Telegram: Last chance on December 31, 2022
“You can order up to 160 characters for a mini-telegram and up to 480 characters for a maxi-telegram,” says Deutsche Post on the Telegram product page. In times of digital messengers like WhatsApp, Telegram (with an “m”) and Signal, the character limit seems downright antiquated. And yes, that’s true: Because that Telegram had been in use in Germany for over 150 yearspeaked in the late 1970s.
“We’re retiring the Telegram product by the end of the year,” according to Alexander Edenhofer from Deutsche Post (Source: Paketda). From January 1, 2023, the service will no longer be part of Deutsche Post’s offering.
Leading for years, now technically obsolete
It is almost astonishing that the telegram was able to last so long. The drop in demand was enormous, so that the service was only used occasionally in the end (Source: Tagesschau). The last nail in the coffin was perhaps the high price, because a mini-telegram costs 12.90 euros. If you then add a “decorative leaf” (e.g. flower motif), it’s already 17.10 euros. At best, this is to be represented as a party gag (“Happy New Year, wish you…”), otherwise it’s better to send a voice message a few lines via WhatsApp and just add 20 photos and 3 videos.
So it’s time to finally say goodbye. Telegrams have in many places around the world history written. An example:
Sarajevo, June 28 at 12 noon. His Majesty, Kiel. His Imperial and Royal Highness Archduke Heir Apparent and His wife have just been the victims of a revolver attack. Consul General Eiswaldt.
A sailor gave this message to Kaiser Wilhelm II in 1914, who was taking part in a regatta in the Baltic Sea. The content was tough: the unexpected death of Archduke Franz Ferdinand triggered a political crisis that ultimately led to the First World War.
Don’t want to miss any more news about technology, games and pop culture? No current tests and guides? Then follow us
Facebook
or Twitter.
