OKI of telecommunication (1881–1950s) Founding The company was founded by
Kibataro Oki (1848–1906), an engineer formerly employed at a Kobusho (Ministry of Industry) factory. In 1877, only a year after
Alexander Graham Bell's invention, Kubusho had started an effort to make telephone receivers by reverse engineering and Oki was in the team that came up with the first prototype. In January 1881, convinced that the nation was about to enter the age of communications, Kibataro Oki founded
Meikōsha, which was later renamed OKI. The company manufactured the first telephone in Japan in 1881, five years after Bell invented the phone, and exhibited a silver-award-winning
lacquer-coated wire at the 1885
International Inventions Exhibition in London.
Early years OKI contributed immensely to the proliferation of phones in Japan under the country's Telephone Expansion Plans. The company saw the need of automatic exchanges as well, as phones became common.
Asano Soichiro of
Asano zaibatsu, a predecessor of the
Fuyo Group, was elected to chairman in 1912.
Pre and post wars During
World War I, wartime demand brought large profits to OKI as demand for telephone service increased. A strong demand emerged for the PBX (
Private Branch Exchange), the largest system of which in Japan installed by OKI. In addition to business from Japan, overseas business also grew, providing railroad-type printers, portable telephones and electric wires outside Japan. From around 1920, OKI achieved notable advances in its technical development of the common-battery switchboard. Asano Soichiro's son was appointed to the next chairman in 1931. which was a successful business-use PC business. It also added a facsimile business unit in search of private sector demand. In 1982, OKI introduced the world's first cash-recycling ATM, allowing deposited banknotes to be immediately used for withdrawal. ;Printers • Microline • , 82/83, 84, 92/93 • 180, , 190, • 280, 292/293, 294 • 320 , 321, 380, 390 FB, 393, 395 • 520/521, 590/591 •
Okimate 10, • Pacemark • 2350, 2410 • 3410, 4410 • Laserline 6 ;ICs • MSM5232 8-channel tone generator • MSM6242 RTC • MSM6295 4-channel
ADPCM OKI of network solutions (1990s) In the early 90s, Japanese economy was in the midst of recession that continued after
the bubble economy collapsed, which also hit a strong blow to OKI's business. In October 1994, OKI spun off its printer and facsimile business, and established Oki Data Corporation. In the later 90's, with the spread of the Internet, OKI worked on being recognized as a company that offers network solutions. In December 1990, the OKI 900 cell phone was marketed. The phone was famous in phone
phreaking culture for its advanced debugging menu allowing eavesdropping of others cell phone calls and observation of cell phone network operation.
2000s In 2004, OKI released its IP CONVERGENCE Server SS9100, the industry's first Microsoft. Net-compliant server, and in 2006, released its Center Stage NX5000, a carrier-grade communication server compliant with next-generation networks. In 2008, as part of its business selection and concentration measures, OKI spun off its semiconductor business to
Rohm Co., Ltd. == Controversies ==