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First Transatlantic Telegraph Cable
The Transatlantic Telegraph Cable provides telephone service between America and the United Kingdom; it was created with 1,500 nautical miles of specially insulated coaxial cable, and can hold up to thirty calls.
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First commercial digital transmission system
Illinois Bell created the first commercial digital transmission system. It is the first to carry voice signals, and demonstrates the first paging system. The pager will alert the person when they have messages, and they can call their home or office phone to retrieve the messages.
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Telestar 1 (communications satellite) is launched
Is launched into space by NASA Transmits data and telephone signals, and the live transatlantic telecast. Bell Telephone Laboratories designs and builds the telestar, costing $6 million. It is 34 inches in diameter and weighs 171 pounds.
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Touch-Tone Telephone
With 10 push buttons instead of the 12-digit dial, the Western Electric 1500 model becomes the new telephone.
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The First Electronic Central Office Switching System
The 1 ESS is installed first in New Jersey. It allows systems with telephone traffic to switch to a central office. It has the capacity to store features such as call forwarding and speed dialing.
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First portable cell phone call is made
Martin Cooper calls his competitors, Bell Labs, on a portable cell phone. They had been used before in cars, but his was the first used for true portable use. Martin's team was later on awarded a patent for this invention.
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U.S. Military begins using fiber optics
The navy installs a fiber optic telephone on the USS Little Rock. Because of the data modulated into lightwaves, the glass fibers are thinner and lighter than metal cables, thus making them less susceptible to interference.
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