Telephone equipment decommissioned in the 1930s was brought back into use during the Winter War, as replacement items had only been acquired in quantities sufficient mainly for training purposes. Field telephone and switchboard equipment were procured from various sources during the war, resulting in as many as 34 different models. Although acquisitions were made, only about half of the required number of field telephones were available during the Winter War. The large number of different models complicated the operations of the signal depot, especially in terms of power supply maintenance.
As for radios, the Winter War began with essentially only training equipment, as there was hardly any in storage. Of the radios acquired and produced during the war, only individual units were delivered to the troops. Radios originally intended for civilian use were also adopted by the Defence Forces. One example of this is the VRK series known as "rooster whistles" which Yleisradio had originally intended for use during the 1940 Summer Olympics planned to be held in Helsinki.
