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the new century dawned, the Bell company had 800,000 phones in service compared to 600,000 in independent territories. The figures tell a story. With public distrust of the Bell company and the independents aggressively expanding--even into Bell operating territories, the Bell companies were starting to feel the heat. By 1903 and for a time, these independents had more subscribers than Bell. -
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At the turn of the century, recognizing the many public and competitive concerns, the Bell System executives looked to Theodore N. Vail to lead them once more....and he turned them down flat. Vail didn't feel it was a good time to return, so the Bell company brought in Frederick Fish, who although put in a tremendous effort, was exhausted by 1907 and retired. -
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Ripe for expansion, the Bell System completed the first coast-to-coast telephone line in 1915 from New York to San Francisco. Vail also used the "wireless" system to begin overseas cable installations, connecting the U.S. to other countries. -
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A major business disruption occurred in 1918 when the government took over telephone service in the United States. But with Vail's hard work in coaxing governmental officials and working out contracts, he was able to return control to the Bell System within a few short months. -
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The depression passed by the mid-1930s but something else was standing at AT&Ts doorstep: a new arm of the government formed to regulate the telephone business, the Federal Commerce Commission. The first project the FCC undertook was a massive investigation of AT&T. Four years later and at the cost of $2,000,000, the FCC uncovered several issues, but the most important--to them--was that Western Electric was charging too much for equipment. -
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By the end of the 1930s, AT&T had 15 million phones in service and were sitting quite well in the eyes of the public through its heroic efforts in the aftermath of the hurricane. -
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It seems the late 1940s were a time of innovation. The first commercial mobile phones were installed (1946 in St. Louis), Microwave Radio was introduced for use in the long distance market and television service began in earnest. In 1947, the scientists at Bell Labs (right) invented the transistor and the course of history changed. In 1948 they earned a Nobel Peace Prize for their work. -
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The first winds of "breaking apart the Bell System" came in 1949 when the Justice Department field suit against the Bell System under the Sherman Antitrust Act. AT&T asked for a postponement. The case dragged for a couple years. With the election of a Republican, Dwight D. Eisenhower the case was shelved for a time, as the Republican administration held a different view of anti-trust laws than the Democratic administration it replaced. -
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By 1956, the suit was settled. The consent decree did not split the Bell System in any way. In fact, it dealt mostly with limiting the company to the business of communications and allowing the sharing of technical information to any applicant. -
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Party lines were on the decrease and by the mid-1960s only 25 percent of all phones in America were connected through a party line. Electronic Switching offices began taking the place of the old mechanical switches. Kappel also introduced All Number Calling (ANC). Popular prefix names such as Butterfield, Spring, Rogers Park, and Yards were now gone. But it wasn't without a fight as consumers fought vigorously to keep the beloved names in place. -
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The new man at the helm, Frederick Kappel brought color, style and technological advancement to the system. In 1959 the Princess phone was introduced, in 1963 the first Touch Tone phones were rolled out, and in 1965 the Trimline was introduced. -
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But that still wasn't the end. By 1970, the FCC allowed independent companies to install and maintain communications systems for businesses--a direct competition with the Bell System and their facilities. These companies were called, "common carriers." The largest was MCI. -
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By 1971 there were over 100 million phones in service.
But the 60s came to a close on a negative note--several negative notes. First, the massive union strikes against the phone companies in 1968 crippled service and divided management and craft employees. Then, huge service disruptions occurred in New York City. But that wasn't all. -
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And in 1974 another hammer blow. The government announced it was filing suit to break up the "monopolistic" Bell System. Not only did this action drag until 1979 when it went to trial, but the action could very well have cast a slowdown of technological advances made during this period in telecommunications. -
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The case was assigned to Judge Harold Greene. It was said he didn't like the big Bell Company so naturally leaned at breaking the system into smaller pieces.
And he did just that. In 1983 the government--Judge Harold Greene--had successfully torn apart the Bell System.
After divestiture, employees, friends, colleagues immediately began working for "other" competitive companies. The system was broken into 7 "Baby bells," each with its own separate workforce, managers, and executives.
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Slider phones are cool this one made back in 2004 along with many other types. -
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phones have aged so much over time and now we have the cell phone instead of corded phones Enjoy what man has created
