Imagining the Internet
The Development of the             Telephone
As with many             innovations, the idea for the telephone came along far             sooner than it was brought to reality. While Italian             innovator Antonio Meucci (pictured at left) is credited             with inventing the first basic phone in 1849, and             Frenchman Charles Bourseul devised a phone in 1854,             Alexander Graham Bell won the first U.S. patent for the             device in 1876. Bell began his research in 1874 and had             financial backers who gave him the best business plan             for bringing it to market.
In 1877-78, the first telephone             line was constructed, the first switchboard was created             and the first telephone exchange was in operation.             Three years later, almost 49,000 telephones were in             use. In 1880, Bell (in the photo below) merged this             company with others to form the American Bell Telephone             Company and in 1885 American Telegraph and Telephone             Company (AT&T) was formed; it dominated telephone             communications for the next century. At one point in             time, Bell System employees purposely denigrated the             U.S. telephone system to drive down stock prices of all             phone companies and thus make it easier for Bell to             acquire smaller competitors.
By 1900 there             were nearly 600,000 phones in Bell's telephone             system; that number shot up to 2.2 million phones by             1905, and 5.8 million by 1910. In 1915 the             transcontinental telephone line began operating. By             1907, AT&T had a near monopoly on phone and             telegraph service, thanks to its purchase of Western             Union. Its president, Theodore Vail, urged at the time             that a monopoly could most efficiently operate the             nation's far-flung communications network. At the             urging of the public and AT&T competitors, the             government began to investigate the company for             anti-trust violations, thus forcing the 1913 Kingsbury             Commitment, an agreement between AT&T vice             president Nathan Kingsbury and the office of the U.S.             Attorney General. Under this commitment, AT&T             agreed to divest itself of Western Union and provide             long-distance services to independent phone             exchanges.
During World War I, the             government nationalized telephone and telegraph lines             in the United States from June 1918 to July 1919, when,             after a joint resolution of Congress, President Wilson             issued an order putting them under the direction of the             U.S. Post Office. A year later, the systems were             returned to private ownership, AT&T resumed its             monopolistic hold, and by 1934 the government again             acted, this time agreeing to allow it to operate as a             "regulated monopoly" under the jurisdiction             of the FCC.
Public utility commissions in             state and local jurisdictions were appointed regulators             of AT&T and the nation's independent phone             companies, while the FCC regulated long-distance             services conducted across state lines. They set the             rates the phone companies could charge and determined             what services and equipment each could offer. This             stayed in effect until AT&T's forced             divestiture in 1984, the conclusion of a U.S.             Department of Justice anti-trust suit that had been             filed in 1974. The all-powerful company had become             popularly known and disparaged as "Ma Bell."             AT&T's local operations were divided into seven             independent Regional Bell Operating Companies, known as             the "Baby Bells." AT&T became a             long-distance-services company.
By 1948, the 30 millionth phone             was connected in the United States; by the 1960s, there             were more than 80 million phone hookups in the U.S. and             160 million in the world; by 1980, there were more than             175 million telephone subscriber lines in the U.S. In             1993, the first digital cellular network went online in             Orlando, Florida; by 1995 there were 25 million             cellular phone subscribers, and that number exploded at             the turn of the century, with digital cellular phone             service expected to replace land-line phones for most             U.S. customers by as early as 2010.
World Changes Due to the             Telephone
Within 50 years             of its invention, the telephone had become an             indispensable tool in the United States. In the late             19th century, people raved about the telephone's             positive aspects and ranted about what they anticipated             would be negatives. Their key points, recorded by             Ithiel de Sola Pool in his 1983 book "Forecasting             the Telephone," mirror nearly precisely what was             later predicted about the impact of the             internet.
For example, people said the             telephone would: help further democracy; be a tool for             grassroots organizers; lead to additional advances in             networked communications; allow social             decentralization, resulting in a movement out of cities             and more flexible work arrangements; change marketing             and politics; alter the ways in which wars are fought;             cause the postal service to lose business; open up new             job opportunities; allow more public feedback; make the             world smaller, increasing contact between peoples of             all nations and thus fostering world peace; increase             crime and aid criminals; be an aid for physicians,             police, fire, and emergency workers; be a valuable tool             for journalists; bring people closer together,             decreasing loneliness and building new communities;             inspire a decline in the art of writing; have an impact             on language patterns and introduce new words; and             someday lead to an advanced form of the transmission of             intelligence.
Privacy was also a major concern.             As is the case with the Internet, the telephone worked             to improve privacy while simultaneously leaving people             open to invasions of their privacy. In the beginning             days of the telephone, people would often have to             journey to the local general store or some other             central point to be able to make and receive calls.             Most homes weren't wired together, and             eavesdroppers could hear you conduct your personal             business as you used a public phone. Switchboard             operators who connected the calls would also regularly             invade people's privacy. The early house-to-house             phone systems were often "party lines" on             which a number of families would receive calls, and             others were free to listen in and often chose to do             so.
Today, while most homes are wired             and people can travel freely, conducting their phone             conversations wirelessly, wiretapping and other             surveillance methods can be utilized to listen in on             their private business. People's privacy can also             be interrupted by unwanted phone calls from             telemarketers and others who wish to profit in some way             - just as Internet e-mail accounts receive unwanted             sales pitches, known as "spam."
Yet, the invention of the             telephone also worked to increase privacy in many ways.             It permitted people to exchange information without             having to put it in writing, and a call on the phone             came to replace such intrusions on domestic seclusion             as unexpected visits from relatives or neighbors and             the pushy patter of door-to-door salesmen. The same             could be said for the Internet - privacy has been             enhanced in some ways because e-mail and instant             messaging have reduced the frequency of the jangling             interruptions previously dished out by our             telephones.
President Rutherford B. Hayes to             Alexander Graham Bell in 1876 on viewing the telephone             for the first time:
“That’s an             amazing invention, but who would ever want to use one             of them?”
Bell offered to sell his             telephone patent to Western Union for $100,000 in 1876,             when he was struggling with the business. An account             that is believed by some to be apocryphal, but still             recounted in many telephone histories states that the             committee appointed to investigate the offer filed the following report:
"We do             not see that this device will be ever capable of             sending recognizable speech over a distance of several             miles. Messer Hubbard and Bell want to install one of             their 'telephone devices' in every city. The             idea is idiotic on the face of it. Furthermore, why             would any person want to use this ungainly and             impractical device when he can send a messenger to the             telegraph office and have a clear written message sent             to any large city in the United States? … Mr.             G.G. Hubbard's fanciful predictions, while they             sound rosy, are based on wild-eyed imagination and lack             of understanding of the technical and economic facts of             the situation, and a posture of ignoring the obvious             limitations of his device, which is hardly more than a             toy ... This device is inherently of no use to us. We             do not recommend its purchase."
As reported in the book             "Bell" by Robert V. Bruce, Kate Field, a             British reporter who knew Bell, predicted in 1878 that             eventually:
"While two persons,             hundreds of miles apart, are talking together, they             will actually see each other."
Sir William Preece, chief             engineer for the British Post Office, 1878, as reported             in "The Telephone in a Changing World" by             Marion May Dilts:
"There are conditions in             America which necessitate the use of such instruments             more than here. Here we have a superabundance of             messengers, errand boys and things of that kind … The absence of servants has compelled America             to adopt communications systems for domestic             purposes."
AT&T chief engineer and             Electrical Review writer John J. Carty projected in his             "Prophets Column" in 1891:
"A system of telephony             without wires seems one of the interesting             possibilities, and the distance on the earth through             which it is possible to speak is theoretically limited             only by the curvation of the earth."
Carty also wrote:
"Someday we will build             up a world telephone system, making necessary to all             peoples the use of a common language or common             understanding of languages, which will join all the             people of the earth into one brotherhood. There will be             heard throughout the earth a great voice coming out of             the ether which will proclaim, 'Peace on earth,             good will towards men.'"
In the 1912 article "The             Future Home Theatre" in The Independent, S.C.             Gilfillan wrote:
"There are two             mechanical contrivances … each of which bears in             itself the power to revolutionize entertainment, doing             for it what the printing press did for books. They are             the talking motion picture and the electric vision             apparatus with telephone. Either one will enable             millions of people to see and hear the same performance             simultaneously .. or successively from kinetoscope and             phonographic records … These inventions will             become cheap enough to be … in every home … You will have the home theatre of 1930, oh ye             of little faith."