Yes, you had to put the phone somewhere. The phones in this case were Bell 500 series phones that were all the same size. In the days of telecom monopolies the phone came with the modem and had a special connection to the modem to allow dialing. If your phone circuit only allowed pulse dialing then you would order the one with a dial on it. The modem part would be made large enough for the phone to sit comfortably on top.