Pointer (wireless phone)

Pointer was a mobile phone network of Finnish Posti- ja telelaitos (now TeliaSonera Finland) for a short time on the 1980s. The technology was similar to usual cordless phones, which could be used on hotspots around Finland, at least to make calls. Pointer phones lacked roaming capability. A sign on the wall would show the passers-by that there was a Pointer hotspot available.

There were hotspots on mail offices and there were probably plans to build more of them. When Pointer service was published, however, the NMT phones were beginning a rapid rise in popularity and displaced the Pointer before it had time to establish.

There still exist some signs showing that there was an availability of Pointer service, e.g., in Helsinki on a wall of a mail office on the Mechelininkatu street.[1]