1 00:00:04,240 --> 00:00:07,200 Speaker 1: Get in touch with technology with text stuff from how 2 00:00:07,280 --> 00:00:14,600 Speaker 1: stuff Works dot com. Hay, then everyone, and welcome to 3 00:00:14,800 --> 00:00:17,760 Speaker 1: tech Stuff. I'm Johnson Strickland and I'm learn And today 4 00:00:17,760 --> 00:00:19,800 Speaker 1: we're going to look at a company that has been 5 00:00:19,840 --> 00:00:23,200 Speaker 1: around for a really long time, very influential, so long 6 00:00:23,280 --> 00:00:25,480 Speaker 1: in fact that we are probably going to do this 7 00:00:25,560 --> 00:00:30,080 Speaker 1: in three parts. It's gonna be yes, A T and T, 8 00:00:30,320 --> 00:00:34,239 Speaker 1: the American Telegraph and Telephone Company. Yep. Uh So A 9 00:00:34,360 --> 00:00:36,720 Speaker 1: T and T has a very long history, and it 10 00:00:36,800 --> 00:00:39,639 Speaker 1: first starts off with a couple of earlier companies. Now 11 00:00:39,680 --> 00:00:42,639 Speaker 1: this is not something that's, you know, unusual. We've had 12 00:00:42,680 --> 00:00:45,199 Speaker 1: other discussions about other companies that you know, you have 13 00:00:45,280 --> 00:00:48,200 Speaker 1: to start with, like a like Seed Company and parents 14 00:00:48,320 --> 00:00:50,520 Speaker 1: general General Electric. You know, you have to go back 15 00:00:50,600 --> 00:00:53,519 Speaker 1: way before General Electric to really talk about the company. 16 00:00:53,640 --> 00:00:55,960 Speaker 1: So in this case, we have to talk about a man, 17 00:00:56,720 --> 00:01:01,600 Speaker 1: a man who has been credited officially and through other 18 00:01:01,640 --> 00:01:04,480 Speaker 1: sources as the inventor of the telephone. Although, as we 19 00:01:04,600 --> 00:01:08,199 Speaker 1: all know, when it comes to inventions, it's a lot true, 20 00:01:08,240 --> 00:01:10,520 Speaker 1: it's very tricky to narrow it down to a single person, 21 00:01:10,600 --> 00:01:14,160 Speaker 1: and it takes a research society to make a technology 22 00:01:14,280 --> 00:01:16,040 Speaker 1: and turns out that there are a lot of people 23 00:01:16,080 --> 00:01:18,600 Speaker 1: who are working on things all at the same time, 24 00:01:18,640 --> 00:01:22,440 Speaker 1: and sometimes it's just the person who gets the first. 25 00:01:22,640 --> 00:01:25,399 Speaker 1: In the case of Alexander Graham Bell, uh, not that 26 00:01:25,480 --> 00:01:29,000 Speaker 1: he didn't work very hard and make great contributions. It's 27 00:01:29,000 --> 00:01:30,800 Speaker 1: just that there were other people doing the same sort 28 00:01:30,840 --> 00:01:36,120 Speaker 1: of stuff. Right. So in February, on February eighteen seventy six, 29 00:01:36,720 --> 00:01:39,120 Speaker 1: that is when he filed this first pattern yep to 30 00:01:39,520 --> 00:01:43,160 Speaker 1: a way to electronically transmit speech by quote causing electrical 31 00:01:43,240 --> 00:01:46,640 Speaker 1: undulations similar informed to the vibrations of the air accompanying 32 00:01:46,680 --> 00:01:49,920 Speaker 1: the said vocal or other sounds substantially as set forth 33 00:01:50,040 --> 00:01:55,040 Speaker 1: end quote. Now, Uh, it's interesting he had already written 34 00:01:55,080 --> 00:01:58,640 Speaker 1: the patent out earlier in January of that year, but 35 00:01:59,000 --> 00:02:02,960 Speaker 1: there was a peculiar all you're sort of legal loophole 36 00:02:03,000 --> 00:02:05,400 Speaker 1: that he had to leap through in order for him 37 00:02:05,440 --> 00:02:09,000 Speaker 1: to get this patent recognized in not just the United States, 38 00:02:09,080 --> 00:02:12,240 Speaker 1: but also the United Kingdom. See, the UK had a 39 00:02:12,360 --> 00:02:14,880 Speaker 1: rule that stated if you wanted to patent something in 40 00:02:14,919 --> 00:02:18,560 Speaker 1: the UK, it could not first have been patented anywhere else. 41 00:02:19,240 --> 00:02:21,560 Speaker 1: So Graham Bell writes up this patent. He wants to 42 00:02:21,600 --> 00:02:24,120 Speaker 1: get patented. He's ready to submit it, except that he 43 00:02:24,160 --> 00:02:27,320 Speaker 1: first has to get over to the UK. And uh, guys, 44 00:02:27,360 --> 00:02:28,959 Speaker 1: who don't know if you're familiar with us. In eighteen 45 00:02:29,000 --> 00:02:32,120 Speaker 1: seventy six, there were very few options on how to 46 00:02:32,200 --> 00:02:34,960 Speaker 1: get from say the United States to England that didn't 47 00:02:35,000 --> 00:02:38,120 Speaker 1: involve a really long journey, right. It was basically swimming 48 00:02:38,120 --> 00:02:41,239 Speaker 1: a horse right across that action. Yep, you just hitch 49 00:02:41,280 --> 00:02:44,200 Speaker 1: a team of horses to a boat and say giddy up. 50 00:02:44,720 --> 00:02:47,200 Speaker 1: I mean, we didn't really research that part, so we 51 00:02:47,320 --> 00:02:49,920 Speaker 1: might be a little inaccurate. Make sure you tweet us 52 00:02:49,919 --> 00:02:52,960 Speaker 1: and let us know. But no, no, I mean, you know, 53 00:02:53,040 --> 00:02:55,840 Speaker 1: because the telecommunications were not a thing at this point, 54 00:02:55,880 --> 00:02:59,320 Speaker 1: because he hadn't patented it yet, all right, So it 55 00:02:59,360 --> 00:03:01,560 Speaker 1: was it was taken a while, and so, as it 56 00:03:01,600 --> 00:03:05,760 Speaker 1: turned out, that very same day, another electrician began the 57 00:03:05,800 --> 00:03:08,480 Speaker 1: filing process. I don't think actually file what he what 58 00:03:08,560 --> 00:03:12,000 Speaker 1: he did. We're talking about Elisha Gray and Elishah Gray 59 00:03:12,120 --> 00:03:14,120 Speaker 1: or or we'll just call him Gray because first of all, 60 00:03:14,160 --> 00:03:16,160 Speaker 1: I assume it's Elisha. I did not look up at 61 00:03:16,200 --> 00:03:19,040 Speaker 1: the pronunciation of his first name. But Mr Gray had 62 00:03:19,040 --> 00:03:23,240 Speaker 1: submitted a preliminary application for a similar apparatus. It was 63 00:03:23,280 --> 00:03:27,000 Speaker 1: also called a caveat. That was the technical name for 64 00:03:27,120 --> 00:03:31,720 Speaker 1: the preliminary application. He submitted a caveat for consideration for 65 00:03:31,760 --> 00:03:35,520 Speaker 1: a patent the very same day that Graham Bell posted 66 00:03:35,600 --> 00:03:38,560 Speaker 1: it filed his patent, or technically Bell's lawyer filed the 67 00:03:38,600 --> 00:03:41,720 Speaker 1: patn right here in the United States we're talking about, yes, exactly. 68 00:03:41,800 --> 00:03:45,640 Speaker 1: So Gray applied for a pattern with a very similar idea, 69 00:03:45,840 --> 00:03:48,680 Speaker 1: and the story goes and I don't know the truth 70 00:03:48,720 --> 00:03:51,240 Speaker 1: of this, And in fact, I have proposed to Lauren, 71 00:03:52,000 --> 00:03:56,040 Speaker 1: not romantically, I mean an episode title. I proposed to 72 00:03:56,080 --> 00:03:59,720 Speaker 1: her that we actually cover the content the topic of 73 00:04:00,000 --> 00:04:04,720 Speaker 1: Alexander Graham Bell and Elishah Gray, because the story about 74 00:04:04,960 --> 00:04:07,839 Speaker 1: who got that patent is really interesting and I think 75 00:04:08,120 --> 00:04:12,280 Speaker 1: could merit its own episode at any rate. Uh, the 76 00:04:12,320 --> 00:04:17,160 Speaker 1: story is that Bell's lawyer got a look at Gray's application, 77 00:04:17,400 --> 00:04:22,120 Speaker 1: which included an element that was not in Bell's work. 78 00:04:22,680 --> 00:04:25,560 Speaker 1: But then when the patent was filed, there was a 79 00:04:25,560 --> 00:04:29,160 Speaker 1: little scrawl in the margin that covered the same idea. 80 00:04:30,000 --> 00:04:34,279 Speaker 1: So the story is that Bell's lawyer or perhaps Bell himself. 81 00:04:34,320 --> 00:04:37,960 Speaker 1: It all depends upon the account you read lifted an 82 00:04:38,000 --> 00:04:42,400 Speaker 1: idea directly from Gray's work in order to essentially beat 83 00:04:42,440 --> 00:04:47,640 Speaker 1: him complete. So Bell's patent application goes in ahead of Gray's, 84 00:04:47,680 --> 00:04:51,440 Speaker 1: and so Bell is at least initially awarded the patent. 85 00:04:51,480 --> 00:04:55,560 Speaker 1: Although it was not uncontested. There was actually quite a 86 00:04:57,080 --> 00:04:59,799 Speaker 1: vigorous battle in the legal system of that was gone 87 00:05:00,000 --> 00:05:05,120 Speaker 1: a few years. And so moving ahead on in that 88 00:05:05,240 --> 00:05:08,719 Speaker 1: same year March tenth, eighteen seventy six. Remember he's already 89 00:05:08,720 --> 00:05:10,960 Speaker 1: filed the patent, but it was only on March tenth, 90 00:05:11,040 --> 00:05:14,920 Speaker 1: eighteen seventy six that we had the famous message from 91 00:05:14,920 --> 00:05:18,599 Speaker 1: Alexander Graham Bell to his assistant Thomas Watson. Mr Watson 92 00:05:18,640 --> 00:05:21,840 Speaker 1: being in another room in the same building. Yeah, and 93 00:05:21,839 --> 00:05:24,919 Speaker 1: and he heard it over this device what would what 94 00:05:25,000 --> 00:05:28,480 Speaker 1: would become the telephone, And the message, of course was 95 00:05:28,640 --> 00:05:31,719 Speaker 1: Mr Watson, come here, I want you. And it turns 96 00:05:31,720 --> 00:05:34,720 Speaker 1: out that uh, corey to the story, Alexander Graham Bell 97 00:05:34,760 --> 00:05:37,520 Speaker 1: had accidentally spilled some acid and needed Thomas Watson to 98 00:05:37,560 --> 00:05:39,640 Speaker 1: come over and help him clean it up before it 99 00:05:39,680 --> 00:05:45,080 Speaker 1: did any damage to the surroundings. So not only was 100 00:05:45,160 --> 00:05:48,120 Speaker 1: March tenth, eighteen seventy six the first phone call, it 101 00:05:48,200 --> 00:05:53,919 Speaker 1: was the first emergency phone call. So, yeah, that's a 102 00:05:54,120 --> 00:05:57,120 Speaker 1: fun little little side note about this, and we are 103 00:05:57,279 --> 00:06:00,520 Speaker 1: leading up to the company, but we have to lay 104 00:06:00,560 --> 00:06:03,279 Speaker 1: this groundwork. Yeah, and I find all of this pretty 105 00:06:03,279 --> 00:06:06,520 Speaker 1: fascinating overall. So, so on October eighth of that year, 106 00:06:06,560 --> 00:06:09,600 Speaker 1: eighteen seventy six, they had the first two way telephone 107 00:06:09,600 --> 00:06:12,640 Speaker 1: call between Watson and Bell. Now, before it was a 108 00:06:12,680 --> 00:06:16,039 Speaker 1: one way thing. You could have a transmitter and receiver essentially. 109 00:06:16,040 --> 00:06:18,520 Speaker 1: Now there was one on either side. You could actually 110 00:06:18,560 --> 00:06:21,960 Speaker 1: have this communication. And this is where Bell introduced his 111 00:06:22,120 --> 00:06:26,839 Speaker 1: idea of what the perfect telephone salutation was, Hoy hoy, hoy, 112 00:06:28,040 --> 00:06:29,840 Speaker 1: which is what Mr Burns says when he picks up 113 00:06:29,839 --> 00:06:34,880 Speaker 1: the phone on on The Simpsons. That's delightful. Yeah, Alexander 114 00:06:34,920 --> 00:06:38,400 Speaker 1: Gham Bell and everyone involved in phone companies hated the 115 00:06:38,440 --> 00:06:41,279 Speaker 1: word hello. They did, and we've got some notes about 116 00:06:41,360 --> 00:06:42,880 Speaker 1: that in just a little bit. There was there was 117 00:06:42,920 --> 00:06:47,880 Speaker 1: a very serious and an intense contention about this. It 118 00:06:47,960 --> 00:06:52,920 Speaker 1: was important with a capital I. But so in eight 119 00:06:54,440 --> 00:06:57,360 Speaker 1: Bell was getting financial backing from the fathers of two 120 00:06:57,360 --> 00:07:00,479 Speaker 1: of his students at Boston University, Thomas Sanders and Um 121 00:07:00,600 --> 00:07:05,280 Speaker 1: Gardner Hubbard, and wound up forming the Bell Telephone company right. 122 00:07:05,279 --> 00:07:07,760 Speaker 1: In fact, that first he tried to sell the telephone 123 00:07:07,760 --> 00:07:10,760 Speaker 1: patents to a rival company called Western Union. You may 124 00:07:10,800 --> 00:07:12,640 Speaker 1: have heard of that company. At the time, it was 125 00:07:12,680 --> 00:07:15,760 Speaker 1: the largest corporation in the world. And he offered to 126 00:07:15,800 --> 00:07:17,920 Speaker 1: sell it to them for the princely sum of one 127 00:07:18,280 --> 00:07:20,320 Speaker 1: d thousand dollars and Western Union told him to take 128 00:07:20,320 --> 00:07:22,679 Speaker 1: a long walk off a short pier. Yeah, they didn't 129 00:07:22,720 --> 00:07:26,360 Speaker 1: at that particular point in time understand what this whole 130 00:07:26,360 --> 00:07:28,160 Speaker 1: telephone thing was about. They were like, that's a toy. 131 00:07:28,520 --> 00:07:30,840 Speaker 1: We don't get it right. If you wanted to send 132 00:07:30,880 --> 00:07:33,240 Speaker 1: a message to someone, why would you go through all 133 00:07:33,280 --> 00:07:36,120 Speaker 1: this bother when you could just telegraph it to them. 134 00:07:36,200 --> 00:07:39,200 Speaker 1: We've got perfectly good telegraph lines and swimming horses, why 135 00:07:39,680 --> 00:07:43,880 Speaker 1: exactly so, So they they poo pooed the idea, and 136 00:07:43,920 --> 00:07:46,400 Speaker 1: that's when Bell decided to go the other route and 137 00:07:46,440 --> 00:07:49,480 Speaker 1: form this company. And with that financial backing that Lauren 138 00:07:49,520 --> 00:07:54,320 Speaker 1: talked about, the Bell Telephone Company came into being um 139 00:07:54,360 --> 00:07:58,040 Speaker 1: and Uh. At first, it was a pretty modest affair 140 00:07:58,680 --> 00:08:01,840 Speaker 1: in the early days. They were seven seventy eight telephones 141 00:08:01,840 --> 00:08:05,520 Speaker 1: in existence period, and the company had a grand total 142 00:08:05,600 --> 00:08:09,200 Speaker 1: of one employee, and that one employee was Thomas Watson, 143 00:08:09,280 --> 00:08:12,920 Speaker 1: the former assistant to Alexander Graham Bell, and he was 144 00:08:13,440 --> 00:08:16,360 Speaker 1: He was paid the salary of three dollars per day 145 00:08:16,520 --> 00:08:19,400 Speaker 1: and also had one tenth interest in the company, which, 146 00:08:19,440 --> 00:08:21,280 Speaker 1: as it turns out, would probably be worth a little 147 00:08:21,320 --> 00:08:26,240 Speaker 1: bit more than his salary. Yeah. So Bell goes ahead 148 00:08:26,320 --> 00:08:30,200 Speaker 1: with his company. Uh. Meanwhile, Gray, who had done some 149 00:08:30,240 --> 00:08:33,040 Speaker 1: work for Western Union and had founded a company called 150 00:08:33,080 --> 00:08:37,400 Speaker 1: Western Electric that was acquired by Western Union, began to 151 00:08:38,200 --> 00:08:42,760 Speaker 1: compete against Bell, and uh it got pretty nasty. Bell 152 00:08:42,960 --> 00:08:46,000 Speaker 1: started to look into how he wanted to well, really 153 00:08:46,000 --> 00:08:47,960 Speaker 1: the company was looking into how they wanted to form 154 00:08:48,000 --> 00:08:51,360 Speaker 1: the business, and they took a que off the Morse 155 00:08:51,480 --> 00:08:54,720 Speaker 1: Company Telegraph Company and went with a franchise model. The 156 00:08:54,760 --> 00:08:59,920 Speaker 1: idea being that they would they would license out technology 157 00:09:00,040 --> 00:09:02,680 Speaker 1: and telephones and things of that nature to companies that 158 00:09:02,760 --> 00:09:08,240 Speaker 1: wanted to oversee the administrative efforts of handling this kind 159 00:09:08,280 --> 00:09:12,760 Speaker 1: of local, regionalized phone system. And so Bell would end 160 00:09:12,800 --> 00:09:16,000 Speaker 1: up getting a company. Bell would end up getting a 161 00:09:16,800 --> 00:09:20,480 Speaker 1: portion of that revenue, uh, in return for the fact 162 00:09:20,480 --> 00:09:23,960 Speaker 1: that they're licensing the technology to this other company. All right, right, 163 00:09:23,960 --> 00:09:26,920 Speaker 1: Because until Bell's patents would expire, the company was the 164 00:09:26,960 --> 00:09:31,000 Speaker 1: exclusive manufacturer and provider of telephones. Um those those patents 165 00:09:31,000 --> 00:09:35,320 Speaker 1: would expire in and that was a date that everyone 166 00:09:35,559 --> 00:09:38,960 Speaker 1: in Bell was very, very anxious about. They were cognizant 167 00:09:39,000 --> 00:09:41,360 Speaker 1: of it, they were anxious about it. There were other 168 00:09:41,440 --> 00:09:46,560 Speaker 1: companies that did attempt to spring up despite this um 169 00:09:46,600 --> 00:09:51,760 Speaker 1: this legal monopoly that the Bell system had because of 170 00:09:51,800 --> 00:09:54,440 Speaker 1: the patents. Uh. But we'll talk about that in a 171 00:09:54,480 --> 00:09:57,040 Speaker 1: second before we get too far into this, because there's 172 00:09:57,080 --> 00:09:59,800 Speaker 1: a lot to talk about. Let's take a quick break 173 00:09:59,840 --> 00:10:04,280 Speaker 1: to thank our sponsor. You've probably tried Hulu dot com. 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H John Benjamin plays the lead role 197 00:11:11,200 --> 00:11:14,720 Speaker 1: of Bob, and uh, it's it's certainly one of those 198 00:11:14,800 --> 00:11:20,640 Speaker 1: dysfunctional family shows with lots of absurd characters and events. Uh, 199 00:11:20,240 --> 00:11:23,880 Speaker 1: you just gotta go see it. So go check that out. Okay, 200 00:11:23,960 --> 00:11:28,480 Speaker 1: So we're now up to eighteen seventy eight. Now. In 201 00:11:28,559 --> 00:11:32,000 Speaker 1: eight seventy eight, that's when we saw the first regional 202 00:11:32,040 --> 00:11:35,760 Speaker 1: telephone company actually launched. Not this was one operated by 203 00:11:36,000 --> 00:11:39,240 Speaker 1: Bell Telephone. Right. It was a franchise called New Haven 204 00:11:39,280 --> 00:11:43,000 Speaker 1: District Telephone Company and UH in New Haven, Connecticut, and 205 00:11:43,320 --> 00:11:46,720 Speaker 1: Bell and Western Union began to compete even more viciously. 206 00:11:46,760 --> 00:11:49,320 Speaker 1: They were both launching franchises across the United States. Western 207 00:11:49,400 --> 00:11:52,280 Speaker 1: Union began to use leverage by saying that they would 208 00:11:52,280 --> 00:11:55,640 Speaker 1: not install any telegraph lines in any locations that were 209 00:11:55,679 --> 00:11:58,960 Speaker 1: using Bell Systems. So any region that relied heavily upon 210 00:11:59,000 --> 00:12:03,000 Speaker 1: telegraph services wouldn't do business with Bell because they were 211 00:12:03,040 --> 00:12:05,840 Speaker 1: afraid that they did. They would never have any improvements 212 00:12:05,880 --> 00:12:08,400 Speaker 1: or repair or maintenance of the telegraph systems or even 213 00:12:08,440 --> 00:12:11,679 Speaker 1: operation of the telegraph system. So it's kind of you know, 214 00:12:11,720 --> 00:12:15,280 Speaker 1: holding Bell Systems hostage thing, you don't you know, if 215 00:12:15,280 --> 00:12:17,679 Speaker 1: you don't uh, you don't get to play in this 216 00:12:17,720 --> 00:12:21,640 Speaker 1: game because I own this game. Um. Now. Western Union's 217 00:12:21,640 --> 00:12:24,880 Speaker 1: telephones were based on the work of two inventors, one 218 00:12:24,920 --> 00:12:28,760 Speaker 1: of them Elisha Gray and the other Thomas Edison. Yeah, 219 00:12:28,880 --> 00:12:34,120 Speaker 1: so some big names here. And on September twelve, that's 220 00:12:34,160 --> 00:12:37,920 Speaker 1: when Bell Telephone Company sued Western Union, which is a 221 00:12:37,920 --> 00:12:44,240 Speaker 1: big story because Bell had a small fortune at his disposal. 222 00:12:44,520 --> 00:12:47,560 Speaker 1: Western Union was the largest corporation in the world at 223 00:12:47,559 --> 00:12:49,959 Speaker 1: that time. It worth more than forty one million dollars 224 00:12:50,000 --> 00:12:53,080 Speaker 1: and had the backing of a certain powerful family in 225 00:12:53,080 --> 00:12:56,120 Speaker 1: the United States, the Vanderbilts. And so it was a 226 00:12:56,160 --> 00:12:59,840 Speaker 1: big deal that Bell would go up against this corporate giant. 227 00:13:00,280 --> 00:13:04,920 Speaker 1: And that same year Gardner Hubbard, one of those financiers 228 00:13:05,040 --> 00:13:07,920 Speaker 1: who backed the Bell system in the very early days, 229 00:13:08,440 --> 00:13:12,240 Speaker 1: hired on a man named Theodore Newton Vale to act 230 00:13:12,320 --> 00:13:16,800 Speaker 1: as general manager slash president of Bell Telephone. Right. Veil 231 00:13:16,920 --> 00:13:19,880 Speaker 1: had previously worked for the US Postal Service and and 232 00:13:20,000 --> 00:13:23,520 Speaker 1: he was very key in orchestrating this legal battle. Yeah, 233 00:13:23,520 --> 00:13:27,560 Speaker 1: it's also interesting because Veil will play another important role 234 00:13:27,640 --> 00:13:29,760 Speaker 1: a bit further down the line. Veil had kind of 235 00:13:29,960 --> 00:13:34,000 Speaker 1: on again off again relationship with Bell Telephone. Not necessarily 236 00:13:34,080 --> 00:13:36,320 Speaker 1: all by choice, no, no, but but he did help 237 00:13:36,360 --> 00:13:39,839 Speaker 1: shape the company and absolutely and even as early as 238 00:13:39,920 --> 00:13:42,680 Speaker 1: this he had this vision of building a national long 239 00:13:42,720 --> 00:13:46,600 Speaker 1: distance telephone network UM and doing it before Bell's patents 240 00:13:46,679 --> 00:13:51,240 Speaker 1: ran out, so which was hugely ambitious, incredibly ambitious, a 241 00:13:51,280 --> 00:13:53,640 Speaker 1: little too ambitious, it may turn out to be. In 242 00:13:53,760 --> 00:13:57,880 Speaker 1: eighteen eighty, Alexander Graham Bell decided to resign from the 243 00:13:57,880 --> 00:14:02,200 Speaker 1: Bell Telephone Board of Directors UM, and the next year one, 244 00:14:02,520 --> 00:14:06,000 Speaker 1: Thomas Watson would also resign. So at this point the 245 00:14:06,000 --> 00:14:09,480 Speaker 1: two inventors who gave the company the very basic invention 246 00:14:09,520 --> 00:14:12,880 Speaker 1: that it was all centered around had left the board 247 00:14:12,880 --> 00:14:15,880 Speaker 1: of directors at that time, I believe was putting a 248 00:14:15,880 --> 00:14:19,760 Speaker 1: lot of pressure on. They didn't really see the immediate 249 00:14:20,120 --> 00:14:24,920 Speaker 1: monetary purpose of this whole nationwide network thing, and so 250 00:14:25,080 --> 00:14:28,800 Speaker 1: they were they were really getting down people's throats about like, 251 00:14:29,120 --> 00:14:30,480 Speaker 1: we kind of want to make money, we kind of 252 00:14:30,480 --> 00:14:32,360 Speaker 1: put some money in, we kind of want a little 253 00:14:32,360 --> 00:14:35,320 Speaker 1: bit back, and this digging your heels in. Yeah, this 254 00:14:35,440 --> 00:14:37,120 Speaker 1: is a whole lot of us giving you money and 255 00:14:37,160 --> 00:14:39,240 Speaker 1: not a whole lot of us getting anything back. Right. Yeah, 256 00:14:39,280 --> 00:14:41,920 Speaker 1: there were there were many years when this company was 257 00:14:42,040 --> 00:14:46,640 Speaker 1: operating in debt because they were setting this stuff up. Also, 258 00:14:47,080 --> 00:14:51,280 Speaker 1: interesting little side note, Thomas Watson had a second career 259 00:14:51,400 --> 00:14:55,800 Speaker 1: after his work with Telephone Systems. He would begin a 260 00:14:55,840 --> 00:15:00,000 Speaker 1: career as a ship builder. He built ships loood for him. Yeah, 261 00:15:00,040 --> 00:15:01,520 Speaker 1: it's kind of interesting. I just thought it was neat 262 00:15:02,120 --> 00:15:05,720 Speaker 1: So eight two this is about when Western Union and 263 00:15:05,800 --> 00:15:11,120 Speaker 1: Bell Systems settle this lawsuit that's this ongoing dispute that 264 00:15:11,200 --> 00:15:14,880 Speaker 1: had been pretty much taking up all their time over 265 00:15:14,920 --> 00:15:18,880 Speaker 1: the last couple of years, um because the patent infringement 266 00:15:18,960 --> 00:15:22,920 Speaker 1: lawsuits were something that was just nasty on all parts. Well, 267 00:15:22,960 --> 00:15:25,760 Speaker 1: in that settlement, Western Union ended up selling its telephone 268 00:15:25,800 --> 00:15:28,480 Speaker 1: network to Bell, so that was a network that was 269 00:15:28,800 --> 00:15:33,400 Speaker 1: what there was, Like, that's that's significant. So fifty five 270 00:15:33,440 --> 00:15:36,760 Speaker 1: more cities go to Bell Systems. Bell in return promised 271 00:15:36,760 --> 00:15:41,320 Speaker 1: Western Union of its telephone rental revenue. So Bell Telephone 272 00:15:41,320 --> 00:15:44,560 Speaker 1: also acquired from Western Union the company Western Electric that 273 00:15:44,640 --> 00:15:47,320 Speaker 1: was the one that was founded by Elishah Gray, and 274 00:15:47,360 --> 00:15:50,840 Speaker 1: that became a T and T s manufacturing division. So 275 00:15:51,520 --> 00:15:54,840 Speaker 1: here's just a little information about how the phone system 276 00:15:54,960 --> 00:15:57,360 Speaker 1: used to work in the United States. It used to 277 00:15:57,400 --> 00:16:00,320 Speaker 1: be that you would go to a store to get 278 00:16:00,320 --> 00:16:03,200 Speaker 1: a phone, and you leased it. You didn't own that phone, 279 00:16:03,760 --> 00:16:07,120 Speaker 1: so you actually that phone remained the property of the 280 00:16:07,160 --> 00:16:09,480 Speaker 1: parent company, which at this time is Bell Systems and 281 00:16:09,560 --> 00:16:12,480 Speaker 1: shortly will become a T and T. And so you 282 00:16:12,520 --> 00:16:16,320 Speaker 1: would pay a leasing fee, and in turn, the company 283 00:16:16,320 --> 00:16:18,840 Speaker 1: that you got it from was likely not directly a 284 00:16:18,960 --> 00:16:21,200 Speaker 1: T and T. It was probably some regional office that 285 00:16:21,360 --> 00:16:25,960 Speaker 1: also was leasing that same phone from a T and T. 286 00:16:26,200 --> 00:16:29,840 Speaker 1: Certainly at this point it was Bell systems. But yeah, 287 00:16:29,840 --> 00:16:32,480 Speaker 1: so Bell Systems leases out a phone to a regional office, 288 00:16:32,520 --> 00:16:34,920 Speaker 1: the regional office leases the phone out to the customer, 289 00:16:35,160 --> 00:16:38,080 Speaker 1: So you didn't you never actually owned that phone, which 290 00:16:38,120 --> 00:16:40,840 Speaker 1: I think some people might find a little unusual today 291 00:16:40,880 --> 00:16:43,600 Speaker 1: because they think, well, I bought this piece of electrical 292 00:16:43,640 --> 00:16:46,000 Speaker 1: I mean, you turn off the service. Fine, I understand that, 293 00:16:46,040 --> 00:16:50,120 Speaker 1: but that's my phone. Um yeah not back then, Nope, 294 00:16:50,160 --> 00:16:54,200 Speaker 1: you were just renting it. Really, So Western Union gets 295 00:16:54,200 --> 00:16:57,560 Speaker 1: out of the way. So Bell system effectively becomes a monopoly. 296 00:16:58,040 --> 00:17:02,000 Speaker 1: And according to research, terms of telephone network, yeah, they're 297 00:17:02,000 --> 00:17:06,119 Speaker 1: they're pretty much. There are other competing telephone networks, but 298 00:17:06,200 --> 00:17:09,119 Speaker 1: they're all they're all technically illegal at this time because 299 00:17:09,119 --> 00:17:13,440 Speaker 1: this is still exactly so. According to researcher John Brooks, 300 00:17:13,480 --> 00:17:17,720 Speaker 1: Bell Telephone would have a level more than six hundred 301 00:17:17,800 --> 00:17:21,439 Speaker 1: patent infringement lawsuits against other companies over the course of 302 00:17:21,440 --> 00:17:24,360 Speaker 1: a decade, and they won every single one of them. 303 00:17:25,600 --> 00:17:27,760 Speaker 1: Because anytime a company would come up, like there were 304 00:17:27,800 --> 00:17:31,280 Speaker 1: companies that were trying to create telephone systems in rural 305 00:17:31,320 --> 00:17:35,040 Speaker 1: areas that Bell just had not reach, and so they 306 00:17:35,080 --> 00:17:37,880 Speaker 1: wanted to give people the benefit of this technology. Bell 307 00:17:38,000 --> 00:17:40,719 Speaker 1: did not have either the ability or interest to go 308 00:17:40,800 --> 00:17:42,760 Speaker 1: into that market. So they would go ahead and do 309 00:17:42,760 --> 00:17:44,560 Speaker 1: it themselves, and then Bell would soothe them because they're 310 00:17:44,800 --> 00:17:47,680 Speaker 1: you can't do that. We have the the exclusivity rights 311 00:17:47,720 --> 00:17:51,159 Speaker 1: to this technology, um and you know, and there's like, 312 00:17:51,200 --> 00:17:53,560 Speaker 1: we're gonna get there and just give us time. Meanwhile, 313 00:17:53,560 --> 00:17:56,040 Speaker 1: everyone's like, but I wanted to call my buddy. There's 314 00:17:56,080 --> 00:17:59,280 Speaker 1: no nothing to call them on other than sticking ahead 315 00:17:59,280 --> 00:18:02,080 Speaker 1: out the window and shot, hey, Jeb, so I don't 316 00:18:02,080 --> 00:18:07,520 Speaker 1: know why his name is Jeb short Jebediah. Five. That 317 00:18:07,600 --> 00:18:09,520 Speaker 1: is when a T and T is officially formed as 318 00:18:09,560 --> 00:18:13,560 Speaker 1: a subsidiary of Bell. Yeah, and this is the the 319 00:18:13,600 --> 00:18:19,160 Speaker 1: formal implementation of VAL's vision of creating a long distance network. 320 00:18:19,280 --> 00:18:22,120 Speaker 1: That's the main purpose of a T and T. So 321 00:18:22,200 --> 00:18:25,439 Speaker 1: a T and T is all about building out a 322 00:18:25,440 --> 00:18:28,160 Speaker 1: long distance network so that people can call each other 323 00:18:28,280 --> 00:18:32,600 Speaker 1: across states and across countries. Right by the end of 324 00:18:32,800 --> 00:18:36,320 Speaker 1: eighty five, the company would establish the very first long 325 00:18:36,320 --> 00:18:39,680 Speaker 1: distance connection between New York and Philadelphia. It was capable 326 00:18:39,720 --> 00:18:42,720 Speaker 1: of hand handling a huge one call at a time, 327 00:18:43,160 --> 00:18:46,600 Speaker 1: one call capacity. So I can just imagine the circuits 328 00:18:46,600 --> 00:18:48,720 Speaker 1: being busy over and over and thinking they need to 329 00:18:48,800 --> 00:18:53,120 Speaker 1: just wrap this up. Those people in Philly are chatter boxes. 330 00:18:53,760 --> 00:18:55,719 Speaker 1: Uh yeah, So that was but it was really more 331 00:18:55,760 --> 00:18:58,000 Speaker 1: of a proof of concept obviously at that point, not 332 00:18:58,119 --> 00:19:00,080 Speaker 1: necessarily something that was going to be terribly proud. Go 333 00:19:00,200 --> 00:19:02,480 Speaker 1: we're talking a little bit about how expensive these phone 334 00:19:02,480 --> 00:19:06,920 Speaker 1: calls were too, got a little little dear. Um. So 335 00:19:08,200 --> 00:19:11,520 Speaker 1: that same year was when the state of Indiana passed 336 00:19:11,560 --> 00:19:15,040 Speaker 1: a law restricting the price of telephone rental fees. So 337 00:19:15,200 --> 00:19:18,240 Speaker 1: remember I was saying, you rent your telephone, both the 338 00:19:18,320 --> 00:19:20,560 Speaker 1: regional offices do it and then the customers do it. 339 00:19:20,920 --> 00:19:24,440 Speaker 1: But because Bell was the only game in town, they 340 00:19:24,440 --> 00:19:27,359 Speaker 1: could pretty much dictate what those rental prices were gonna be. 341 00:19:28,119 --> 00:19:31,119 Speaker 1: Uh this this lawsuit said well you need to cut 342 00:19:31,160 --> 00:19:35,480 Speaker 1: back on those costs. So um Bell's response, the company's 343 00:19:35,520 --> 00:19:38,080 Speaker 1: response was saying, well, you know, we have to have 344 00:19:38,240 --> 00:19:42,560 Speaker 1: these prices because the service is expensive to to build out, 345 00:19:42,600 --> 00:19:47,320 Speaker 1: to administer, to maintain. We cannot operate at a lower cost. 346 00:19:47,800 --> 00:19:50,560 Speaker 1: We if we were to lower these this amount of money, 347 00:19:51,000 --> 00:19:53,240 Speaker 1: we would not make a profit, we would lose money 348 00:19:53,240 --> 00:19:55,560 Speaker 1: on the deal. We can't do it. So your phones 349 00:19:55,560 --> 00:19:59,359 Speaker 1: are off, and they shut off the phones in Indiana. Yeah, 350 00:19:59,560 --> 00:20:04,560 Speaker 1: no more calls. Yeah, sorry, and um, it would be 351 00:20:04,600 --> 00:20:09,520 Speaker 1: a couple of years before they would come when service 352 00:20:09,560 --> 00:20:14,560 Speaker 1: was restored for one corporation to have. Yeah. Some people 353 00:20:14,680 --> 00:20:16,760 Speaker 1: said the A. T and T statement was that this 354 00:20:16,840 --> 00:20:19,800 Speaker 1: was an example of quote the futility of public action 355 00:20:19,880 --> 00:20:23,000 Speaker 1: and ignorance end quote, saying that you know, you guys 356 00:20:23,000 --> 00:20:24,919 Speaker 1: were all upset and you told us that we had 357 00:20:24,960 --> 00:20:27,000 Speaker 1: to do this thing, but you didn't understand that we 358 00:20:27,000 --> 00:20:29,800 Speaker 1: were doing it because that's financially what we have to do. 359 00:20:30,359 --> 00:20:32,359 Speaker 1: Other people said, no, A. T and T held the 360 00:20:32,400 --> 00:20:35,520 Speaker 1: state hostage by saying you don't get phone calls until 361 00:20:35,560 --> 00:20:40,920 Speaker 1: you play ball, which that's that's that's pretty awful. Yeah. Yeah, 362 00:20:40,960 --> 00:20:44,840 Speaker 1: well with without actually looking at the financial books and 363 00:20:44,920 --> 00:20:47,240 Speaker 1: knowing that the company did operate in debt for a while, 364 00:20:48,800 --> 00:20:50,560 Speaker 1: it's hard to say, although you know at the time 365 00:20:50,600 --> 00:20:53,440 Speaker 1: they were positing themselves as sort of a public service, 366 00:20:54,320 --> 00:20:56,840 Speaker 1: that's right, akin to something like the post office, which 367 00:20:56,840 --> 00:21:01,080 Speaker 1: would become much more their their message in a few years. 368 00:21:01,200 --> 00:21:05,560 Speaker 1: So seven that was the first year that Theodore Vale 369 00:21:05,560 --> 00:21:09,480 Speaker 1: resigned as president. Yep, that that was directly I think 370 00:21:09,560 --> 00:21:13,120 Speaker 1: in due to his frustration with the board was saying earlier. 371 00:21:13,200 --> 00:21:16,360 Speaker 1: And there was a dispute with some Boston financial backers 372 00:21:16,400 --> 00:21:19,359 Speaker 1: as well, and all of that kind of fed into 373 00:21:19,480 --> 00:21:23,320 Speaker 1: VAL's resignation. He just decided that that was not where 374 00:21:23,320 --> 00:21:27,320 Speaker 1: he needed to be. So, uh that he leaves. Don't worry, 375 00:21:27,320 --> 00:21:31,000 Speaker 1: He's part of the story is not over yet without him. Meanwhile, 376 00:21:31,040 --> 00:21:34,679 Speaker 1: in eighteen eighty nine, the Bell system would adopt the 377 00:21:34,680 --> 00:21:39,760 Speaker 1: first official Bell logo. Yeah what it looked like a bell? Yeah, okay, 378 00:21:39,960 --> 00:21:43,720 Speaker 1: that makes sense alright. That was when the first long 379 00:21:43,760 --> 00:21:46,679 Speaker 1: distance connection was established between New York and Chicago. And 380 00:21:46,720 --> 00:21:49,480 Speaker 1: this was the real display of long distance. You know, 381 00:21:49,520 --> 00:21:52,800 Speaker 1: New York to Philadelphia was impressive. New York to Chicago 382 00:21:52,840 --> 00:21:57,800 Speaker 1: was a much greater distance. So this was marked by 383 00:21:57,840 --> 00:22:00,600 Speaker 1: a ceremonial phone call. Grand Bell would make that one 384 00:22:00,600 --> 00:22:03,199 Speaker 1: as well. Yep, Alexander Graham Bell's on the call. Uh, 385 00:22:03,440 --> 00:22:06,119 Speaker 1: I did not see who he was calling. Maybe it 386 00:22:06,160 --> 00:22:07,960 Speaker 1: was just you know, prank calls. And he was making 387 00:22:07,960 --> 00:22:10,080 Speaker 1: prank calls to Chicago and ordering pizza and then saying 388 00:22:10,080 --> 00:22:12,200 Speaker 1: our pizza is better than your pizza. I can only hope, 389 00:22:12,400 --> 00:22:14,840 Speaker 1: I would really hope. So, I mean you think prank 390 00:22:14,880 --> 00:22:18,360 Speaker 1: called pizza? It fits. So the after all, the very 391 00:22:18,359 --> 00:22:20,120 Speaker 1: first call on a mobile phone was a prank call. 392 00:22:20,520 --> 00:22:23,679 Speaker 1: But the capacity of this line was just like the 393 00:22:23,680 --> 00:22:27,359 Speaker 1: one from Philadelphia, one at a time, and it cost 394 00:22:27,520 --> 00:22:30,320 Speaker 1: nine dollars for the first five minutes, which you you 395 00:22:30,359 --> 00:22:33,000 Speaker 1: did the math on us inflation, Yeah, I used in 396 00:22:33,320 --> 00:22:36,840 Speaker 1: the inflation calculator. Now, normally I would use the Bureau 397 00:22:36,880 --> 00:22:40,800 Speaker 1: of Labor Statistics calculator, which factors in the consumer price index, 398 00:22:41,200 --> 00:22:44,439 Speaker 1: but that only goes back to so I used the 399 00:22:44,480 --> 00:22:48,320 Speaker 1: inflation calculator. I honestly don't know where they pulled their 400 00:22:48,359 --> 00:22:52,160 Speaker 1: their figures from. So, but based upon the inflation calculator, 401 00:22:52,280 --> 00:22:56,160 Speaker 1: that nine dollars would translate into sixty dollars today. So 402 00:22:56,240 --> 00:22:59,520 Speaker 1: sixty dollars for five minutes of a phone call. So 403 00:22:59,560 --> 00:23:01,600 Speaker 1: if you think your cell phone bill is high, yeah, 404 00:23:01,720 --> 00:23:05,040 Speaker 1: that's no talk about how I'm almost all the minutes. Well, 405 00:23:05,320 --> 00:23:07,920 Speaker 1: those minutes are precious. Look how much they cost back 406 00:23:07,960 --> 00:23:13,240 Speaker 1: in the eighties. Uh. So that was when those patents 407 00:23:13,280 --> 00:23:15,840 Speaker 1: that we were talking about expired. Yeah, and uh the 408 00:23:15,920 --> 00:23:20,320 Speaker 1: day it happened, the columns at Bell System trembled and 409 00:23:20,440 --> 00:23:23,840 Speaker 1: there was a great whaling. Over the next ten years, 410 00:23:23,880 --> 00:23:27,800 Speaker 1: six thousand independent telephone companies would open across the United States. Now, 411 00:23:27,800 --> 00:23:30,359 Speaker 1: these were legal at this point because the patents no 412 00:23:30,440 --> 00:23:34,280 Speaker 1: longer gained exclusivity rights to Bell Systems. So you had 413 00:23:34,320 --> 00:23:37,520 Speaker 1: all these companies that suddenly could operate legally within the 414 00:23:37,560 --> 00:23:41,560 Speaker 1: United States and offer a competing product or service. Rather, 415 00:23:42,040 --> 00:23:44,960 Speaker 1: there are some problems here. So let's say, Lauren, that 416 00:23:45,000 --> 00:23:47,080 Speaker 1: you and I both live in the same city back 417 00:23:47,160 --> 00:23:51,000 Speaker 1: in eighteen four and it's a small city that Bell 418 00:23:51,080 --> 00:23:54,200 Speaker 1: system really hasn't gotten into. But there's this regional company 419 00:23:54,240 --> 00:23:57,360 Speaker 1: that has introduced a telephone system, and a second regional 420 00:23:57,359 --> 00:24:01,200 Speaker 1: company that competes and also sets up a telephone system. 421 00:24:01,280 --> 00:24:03,560 Speaker 1: You become a customer of one of those companies. I 422 00:24:03,640 --> 00:24:06,240 Speaker 1: become the customer of the other company. And then one 423 00:24:06,320 --> 00:24:09,040 Speaker 1: night you realize, Hey, I left my notes at work. 424 00:24:09,280 --> 00:24:12,200 Speaker 1: I need you to grab them and bring them home. Uh, 425 00:24:12,240 --> 00:24:14,520 Speaker 1: And you know, can you swing by my place? And 426 00:24:14,560 --> 00:24:16,280 Speaker 1: you try and call me, but you can't because you're 427 00:24:16,280 --> 00:24:17,800 Speaker 1: on one system and I'm on the other, and there's 428 00:24:17,800 --> 00:24:21,399 Speaker 1: no interconnectivity. Right, And this was partially because you know, 429 00:24:21,960 --> 00:24:24,560 Speaker 1: those those lines might literally not have been connected, and 430 00:24:24,600 --> 00:24:27,560 Speaker 1: even if they were, you're talking to the way that 431 00:24:27,600 --> 00:24:29,600 Speaker 1: telephones worked at the time, is is you would you 432 00:24:29,640 --> 00:24:31,560 Speaker 1: would pick it up and you would get an operator, 433 00:24:31,600 --> 00:24:33,960 Speaker 1: and you tell the operator where you want your call 434 00:24:34,040 --> 00:24:37,280 Speaker 1: to go. The operator would manually switch you through, manually 435 00:24:37,320 --> 00:24:40,280 Speaker 1: look at a system of switches and figure out the 436 00:24:40,359 --> 00:24:43,080 Speaker 1: route to get your call to that house or that 437 00:24:43,119 --> 00:24:45,960 Speaker 1: other phone, right or as long as the line wasn't engaged, 438 00:24:46,000 --> 00:24:48,359 Speaker 1: they could try the line, but if it's not on 439 00:24:48,400 --> 00:24:51,440 Speaker 1: their system, then you couldn't call them. So so there 440 00:24:51,480 --> 00:24:54,080 Speaker 1: there were speaking of these these numbers of customers, there 441 00:24:54,119 --> 00:24:58,440 Speaker 1: were some seven hundred thousand customers using these other services 442 00:24:58,600 --> 00:25:02,840 Speaker 1: and about a million using Bell. Yeah. So so when 443 00:25:02,840 --> 00:25:06,560 Speaker 1: you think about that six thousand companies and seven thousand 444 00:25:06,600 --> 00:25:09,119 Speaker 1: customers and then one company in a million customers, that 445 00:25:09,200 --> 00:25:14,040 Speaker 1: shows you that they were still they were still effectively 446 00:25:14,119 --> 00:25:17,359 Speaker 1: a monopoly because there was no other single company that 447 00:25:17,400 --> 00:25:20,919 Speaker 1: could compete with them. So while they weren't, by the 448 00:25:21,000 --> 00:25:23,240 Speaker 1: letter of the law, a true monopoly as in the 449 00:25:23,320 --> 00:25:26,119 Speaker 1: only game in town, effectively that's what they were. And 450 00:25:26,160 --> 00:25:29,760 Speaker 1: one of the things that happened in eight was that, uh, well, 451 00:25:29,880 --> 00:25:33,680 Speaker 1: the Pacific Telephone and Telegraph Company, which later became Pacific Telesis, 452 00:25:34,160 --> 00:25:37,720 Speaker 1: opened the first exchange operated entirely in a language other 453 00:25:37,760 --> 00:25:41,119 Speaker 1: than English within the United States, operated in Chinatown in 454 00:25:41,160 --> 00:25:43,119 Speaker 1: San Francisco, and it was all in Chinese. All the 455 00:25:43,240 --> 00:25:47,200 Speaker 1: customers spoke Chinese, and all the operators spoke Chinese. Eight 456 00:25:48,960 --> 00:25:52,040 Speaker 1: that's when A. D n T acquired its former rival 457 00:25:52,119 --> 00:25:56,120 Speaker 1: Western Union. And I sure probably some people said ha 458 00:25:56,119 --> 00:25:59,520 Speaker 1: ha when it happened. So remember Western Union was the 459 00:25:59,560 --> 00:26:03,479 Speaker 1: company that had they purchased those patents from Bell, this 460 00:26:03,480 --> 00:26:05,399 Speaker 1: would be a totally different story. There would not have 461 00:26:05,440 --> 00:26:09,000 Speaker 1: been an A T and T. But instead they had 462 00:26:09,280 --> 00:26:12,440 Speaker 1: decided to fight against Bell and Bell Systems, And now 463 00:26:12,480 --> 00:26:15,200 Speaker 1: they became a property of A T and T itself. 464 00:26:15,760 --> 00:26:18,880 Speaker 1: Um So A T and T acquires the assets of 465 00:26:18,920 --> 00:26:22,639 Speaker 1: the American Bell Telephone Company, which means that A. T 466 00:26:22,720 --> 00:26:25,920 Speaker 1: and T, the subsidiary, now becomes the parent company. Yeah, 467 00:26:25,960 --> 00:26:29,080 Speaker 1: so A T and T was now the big company. 468 00:26:29,160 --> 00:26:33,040 Speaker 1: The student has become the teacher. So eight is when 469 00:26:33,119 --> 00:26:35,439 Speaker 1: we can say the company of A. T and T 470 00:26:35,680 --> 00:26:38,360 Speaker 1: really came into being. It was no longer a subsidiary 471 00:26:38,480 --> 00:26:43,000 Speaker 1: or division. It was it was in charge. So by 472 00:26:43,040 --> 00:26:45,520 Speaker 1: this time the company's size was pretty big. You know. 473 00:26:45,600 --> 00:26:47,919 Speaker 1: Keep in mind when it was founded there was one employee. 474 00:26:47,960 --> 00:26:51,600 Speaker 1: Now there were a million, three two thousand phones in 475 00:26:51,640 --> 00:26:56,159 Speaker 1: the system and more than forty five thousand employees, And 476 00:26:56,240 --> 00:26:59,960 Speaker 1: that same year, researchers independently developed a theory about something 477 00:27:00,080 --> 00:27:05,480 Speaker 1: called loading coils. The loading coils are a part of 478 00:27:05,560 --> 00:27:08,239 Speaker 1: technology that was very important in the early days of 479 00:27:08,280 --> 00:27:11,000 Speaker 1: the telephone system. It actually would reduce the rate at 480 00:27:11,000 --> 00:27:13,919 Speaker 1: which a traveling telephone signal would weaken, which made it 481 00:27:13,960 --> 00:27:16,879 Speaker 1: possible to build longer phone lines and build out this 482 00:27:17,000 --> 00:27:19,840 Speaker 1: long distance network. Right that that loss of signal is 483 00:27:19,880 --> 00:27:22,720 Speaker 1: called attenuation, and it right, it's it's a loss of 484 00:27:22,800 --> 00:27:26,280 Speaker 1: intensity of a signal as it travels through any medium, right. Yeah, 485 00:27:26,320 --> 00:27:29,639 Speaker 1: So this was a huge help in getting around just 486 00:27:29,760 --> 00:27:33,760 Speaker 1: a practical problem that existed with the technology. So several 487 00:27:33,760 --> 00:27:36,920 Speaker 1: other advancements would be made later on. Yeah, and we'll 488 00:27:36,960 --> 00:27:39,000 Speaker 1: talk a lot about those before we do. Let's take 489 00:27:39,040 --> 00:27:42,840 Speaker 1: another quick break to thank our sponsor. Alright, So back 490 00:27:42,880 --> 00:27:46,639 Speaker 1: to a T and T. In nineteen o four, we 491 00:27:46,680 --> 00:27:49,720 Speaker 1: start seeing some states begin to pass laws requiring the 492 00:27:49,760 --> 00:27:53,360 Speaker 1: interconnection between phone networks. And it's still a state by 493 00:27:53,400 --> 00:27:56,840 Speaker 1: state case basis at this point, so it's not like, um, 494 00:27:56,880 --> 00:28:00,119 Speaker 1: it's not like this is a national movement yet, but 495 00:28:00,200 --> 00:28:04,120 Speaker 1: it's starting to kind of develop into that. And remember 496 00:28:04,560 --> 00:28:07,439 Speaker 1: A T and T. There, they were taking a pretty 497 00:28:08,840 --> 00:28:12,600 Speaker 1: nasty competitive approach. Nasty might be the wrong word, how 498 00:28:12,640 --> 00:28:18,840 Speaker 1: about enthusiastic. Yeah, so, but technically this is what everyone 499 00:28:18,920 --> 00:28:21,520 Speaker 1: had to do. Everyone was building out their networks and 500 00:28:21,600 --> 00:28:25,320 Speaker 1: not connecting with other networks. A T and T had 501 00:28:25,400 --> 00:28:28,280 Speaker 1: the most power here because they had the largest number 502 00:28:28,280 --> 00:28:32,840 Speaker 1: of customers among any single telephone company. So by not 503 00:28:32,880 --> 00:28:36,160 Speaker 1: playing ball by not allowing connectivity with these other networks. 504 00:28:36,720 --> 00:28:38,840 Speaker 1: If you know that A T and T is the 505 00:28:38,960 --> 00:28:41,600 Speaker 1: big telephone company and that the majority of the people 506 00:28:41,640 --> 00:28:43,800 Speaker 1: you would want to get in touch with are going 507 00:28:43,840 --> 00:28:46,560 Speaker 1: to be connected to that company, that's the company you 508 00:28:46,640 --> 00:28:49,600 Speaker 1: go with, even if there's a regional company that ends 509 00:28:49,680 --> 00:28:52,280 Speaker 1: up having a better deal for you financially. If no 510 00:28:52,360 --> 00:28:55,480 Speaker 1: one you know is on that service, then you can't 511 00:28:55,520 --> 00:28:58,760 Speaker 1: get a call from another service, right. So just imagine 512 00:28:58,760 --> 00:29:00,880 Speaker 1: for you cell phone users out there that if you're 513 00:29:00,920 --> 00:29:02,920 Speaker 1: an A T and T customer, you would be unable 514 00:29:02,960 --> 00:29:06,040 Speaker 1: to call anyone using Verizon, Sprint, or T Mobile, And 515 00:29:06,360 --> 00:29:08,240 Speaker 1: the same would be true for each of those companies. 516 00:29:08,240 --> 00:29:11,080 Speaker 1: No one would be able to call anyone cross company. 517 00:29:11,200 --> 00:29:13,960 Speaker 1: Then you see how how this becomes a problem. But 518 00:29:14,000 --> 00:29:16,600 Speaker 1: this is still in the early days. So we get 519 00:29:16,640 --> 00:29:19,800 Speaker 1: to nineteen o six, right, Yeah, it was around that 520 00:29:19,840 --> 00:29:23,240 Speaker 1: time that the head of the Chicago Bell Exchange instituted 521 00:29:23,280 --> 00:29:27,200 Speaker 1: coin operated telephones to prevent people from freeloading in in shops, 522 00:29:27,200 --> 00:29:29,320 Speaker 1: you know, drug stores or something might have a telephone 523 00:29:29,320 --> 00:29:32,080 Speaker 1: in them, and since it was still relatively expensive to 524 00:29:32,080 --> 00:29:35,080 Speaker 1: place calls, this was a way they you know, it 525 00:29:35,120 --> 00:29:38,480 Speaker 1: was a nickel perk, Hall and um. By by nineteen 526 00:29:38,520 --> 00:29:41,880 Speaker 1: o six there were nearly forty thod coin operated telephones 527 00:29:41,960 --> 00:29:46,480 Speaker 1: in Chicago. And now you don't see them hardly anywhere. Yeah. 528 00:29:46,800 --> 00:29:49,160 Speaker 1: I love seeing them in movies these days. Once in 529 00:29:49,200 --> 00:29:51,400 Speaker 1: a while, like maybe an airport or something, you might 530 00:29:51,440 --> 00:29:53,880 Speaker 1: see some, but otherwise they're you know, they used to 531 00:29:53,960 --> 00:29:57,480 Speaker 1: be everywhere. Heck, I remember where they were everywhere? Oh yeah, yeah, 532 00:29:57,520 --> 00:30:01,560 Speaker 1: I remember that too. I'm not that young. No. Seven 533 00:30:01,640 --> 00:30:04,080 Speaker 1: was big. That is the year that Theodore veil Um 534 00:30:04,400 --> 00:30:07,440 Speaker 1: became president of A. T and T again again, well, 535 00:30:07,520 --> 00:30:10,320 Speaker 1: he had technically been president of Bell I think, yeah, 536 00:30:10,400 --> 00:30:12,360 Speaker 1: that's true. He was. He was president of Bell, and 537 00:30:12,360 --> 00:30:15,040 Speaker 1: now he's president president of A T and So he 538 00:30:15,360 --> 00:30:18,440 Speaker 1: was brought back on when the JP Morgan group had 539 00:30:18,480 --> 00:30:20,960 Speaker 1: gained a majority control of A T and T and said, 540 00:30:21,000 --> 00:30:22,960 Speaker 1: you know, this Veil guy, we like what he has 541 00:30:23,000 --> 00:30:24,920 Speaker 1: to say. We're going to put him back on the 542 00:30:24,960 --> 00:30:28,640 Speaker 1: top of the company. And J P. JP Morgan specially 543 00:30:28,880 --> 00:30:30,480 Speaker 1: like because he was still alive at the time, and 544 00:30:30,640 --> 00:30:33,880 Speaker 1: he specifically I'm possibly even called up Veil. I think 545 00:30:33,960 --> 00:30:36,200 Speaker 1: Veil was in South America at the time doing stuff 546 00:30:36,480 --> 00:30:38,719 Speaker 1: and you know, had been retired, and he convinced him 547 00:30:38,720 --> 00:30:42,240 Speaker 1: to come out of retirement. Yep, and Veil again started 548 00:30:42,280 --> 00:30:46,000 Speaker 1: to really laid down the vision of A T and 549 00:30:46,080 --> 00:30:49,480 Speaker 1: T and started an ad campaign in nineteen o eight, 550 00:30:49,760 --> 00:30:53,000 Speaker 1: and Veil would really be responsible yet again for setting 551 00:30:53,080 --> 00:30:55,840 Speaker 1: the vision of A T and T. He's hat up 552 00:30:55,840 --> 00:30:58,920 Speaker 1: a challenge to have a line, a single line stretching 553 00:30:58,960 --> 00:31:01,560 Speaker 1: from New York to Standford, Cisco in the next seven years. 554 00:31:01,800 --> 00:31:05,320 Speaker 1: It's pretty again ambitious, It's very ambitious considering the technology 555 00:31:05,320 --> 00:31:08,640 Speaker 1: at the time. So night he starts to kind of 556 00:31:09,040 --> 00:31:11,760 Speaker 1: spearhead and ad campaign that set the A T and 557 00:31:11,760 --> 00:31:14,080 Speaker 1: T corporate policy. Yeah that this was this was the 558 00:31:14,120 --> 00:31:16,240 Speaker 1: other really big important part of his vision and and 559 00:31:16,280 --> 00:31:19,560 Speaker 1: it was connected to this a single line concept. Yeah, 560 00:31:19,600 --> 00:31:24,080 Speaker 1: it was one policy, one system, universal service. The idea 561 00:31:24,160 --> 00:31:28,480 Speaker 1: here being that in order to guarantee that you could 562 00:31:28,720 --> 00:31:32,000 Speaker 1: that every person in America would have access to telephones, 563 00:31:32,480 --> 00:31:35,479 Speaker 1: you had to essentially take this stance of we're the 564 00:31:35,480 --> 00:31:38,280 Speaker 1: only game in town, because if there's none of this 565 00:31:38,360 --> 00:31:41,920 Speaker 1: interconnectivity through different companies, that's the only option you have 566 00:31:42,040 --> 00:31:44,000 Speaker 1: is you have to have someone come out and become 567 00:31:44,160 --> 00:31:47,720 Speaker 1: the dominant player so that everyone has access to the 568 00:31:47,760 --> 00:31:50,680 Speaker 1: phone and can call anyone else. He also Vail had 569 00:31:50,720 --> 00:31:55,120 Speaker 1: this very kind of pro monopoly stance of competition is 570 00:31:55,160 --> 00:31:58,920 Speaker 1: what turns consumers away from brands. It's this this kind 571 00:31:58,920 --> 00:32:02,680 Speaker 1: of cutthroat thing that happens is bad publicity for everyone. 572 00:32:02,800 --> 00:32:06,160 Speaker 1: So if you know, just it's kind of that Doctor 573 00:32:06,200 --> 00:32:08,560 Speaker 1: Horrible sort of thing, like where the world is terrible 574 00:32:08,640 --> 00:32:11,080 Speaker 1: place and I just need to rule it. Yeah, now, 575 00:32:11,440 --> 00:32:14,080 Speaker 1: it's exactly that kind of approach. In fact, I had 576 00:32:14,120 --> 00:32:18,080 Speaker 1: read several things about how the the telegraph companies had 577 00:32:18,200 --> 00:32:20,560 Speaker 1: entered an era of competition and they all decided they 578 00:32:20,600 --> 00:32:23,120 Speaker 1: did not like that very much, And so the telephone 579 00:32:23,160 --> 00:32:26,360 Speaker 1: company was following the same route. They weren't so crazy 580 00:32:26,400 --> 00:32:29,480 Speaker 1: about competition. And to be fair, this is a case 581 00:32:29,480 --> 00:32:33,960 Speaker 1: where competition wasn't really helpful to the consumer simply because 582 00:32:33,960 --> 00:32:37,000 Speaker 1: of that lack of interconnectivity. It wasn't that you know, 583 00:32:38,040 --> 00:32:40,240 Speaker 1: the problem with is that without the competition, you don't 584 00:32:40,280 --> 00:32:43,040 Speaker 1: have the benefit of the consumer being able to choose 585 00:32:43,080 --> 00:32:45,880 Speaker 1: the right kind of plan or price or whatever. But 586 00:32:45,960 --> 00:32:48,680 Speaker 1: on the downside is you know, if there's no interconnectivity, 587 00:32:48,680 --> 00:32:51,040 Speaker 1: then it really gets you stuck. Yeah. And in these 588 00:32:51,040 --> 00:32:54,160 Speaker 1: early days, that was the bigger issue. So, um nt 589 00:32:54,920 --> 00:32:58,720 Speaker 1: some important, very important thing in the history of the 590 00:32:58,720 --> 00:33:02,600 Speaker 1: phone industry happen. Well, phones were still new enough that 591 00:33:02,680 --> 00:33:06,720 Speaker 1: we didn't really have phone etiquette. Yeah, And so Bell 592 00:33:07,000 --> 00:33:10,600 Speaker 1: would publish a a little Bell Engineer magazine would would 593 00:33:10,640 --> 00:33:15,360 Speaker 1: sponsor contest for the best essay about the proper telephone etiquette, 594 00:33:15,600 --> 00:33:20,800 Speaker 1: and they published the best essay. Um. And this was 595 00:33:20,880 --> 00:33:26,000 Speaker 1: kind of when the war on Hello began. So hello 596 00:33:26,160 --> 00:33:29,959 Speaker 1: was being adopted as the salutation of choice by a 597 00:33:29,960 --> 00:33:33,200 Speaker 1: lot of people, and phone executives and other people thought 598 00:33:33,240 --> 00:33:36,480 Speaker 1: that this was a vulgar means of greeting someone on 599 00:33:36,480 --> 00:33:39,000 Speaker 1: the phone. I have a quote from that winning essay. 600 00:33:39,120 --> 00:33:41,360 Speaker 1: It is would you rush into an officer up to 601 00:33:41,360 --> 00:33:43,480 Speaker 1: the door of a residence and blurred out, Hello, Hello, 602 00:33:43,520 --> 00:33:46,680 Speaker 1: who am I talking to? No one should open conversations 603 00:33:46,680 --> 00:33:49,400 Speaker 1: with phrases such as Mr Wood of curdson Son's wishes 604 00:33:49,440 --> 00:33:55,600 Speaker 1: to talk with Mr White without any unnecessary and undignified hello's. Huh. Now. 605 00:33:55,600 --> 00:33:59,600 Speaker 1: I remember hearing once upon a time an apocryphal tale 606 00:34:00,160 --> 00:34:03,640 Speaker 1: that the telephone is what gave rise to the word hello, 607 00:34:04,160 --> 00:34:07,160 Speaker 1: But in fact, the word hello pre dates the telephone 608 00:34:07,360 --> 00:34:11,279 Speaker 1: by a few decades. I think the earliest written examples 609 00:34:11,480 --> 00:34:15,000 Speaker 1: date from the eighteen thirties. However, I will say that 610 00:34:15,040 --> 00:34:18,840 Speaker 1: the telephone gave rise to the popularity of the word hello. 611 00:34:19,400 --> 00:34:23,759 Speaker 1: And obviously, you know, any any sensible civilized human being 612 00:34:23,760 --> 00:34:28,880 Speaker 1: would use ahoyhoy uh. There's all kinds of other etiquette 613 00:34:28,880 --> 00:34:31,040 Speaker 1: notes in these manuals that were coming out at the time. 614 00:34:31,280 --> 00:34:35,760 Speaker 1: One from California instructed speakers to speak directly into the mouthpiece, 615 00:34:35,840 --> 00:34:38,440 Speaker 1: keeping the mustache out of the opening. Yes, And that 616 00:34:38,480 --> 00:34:42,640 Speaker 1: would come into play again in the late two thousand's, 617 00:34:42,640 --> 00:34:45,480 Speaker 1: like the two thousand ten era, when hipsters would come 618 00:34:45,520 --> 00:34:50,319 Speaker 1: back and the mustache got out of control again. Come on, guys, seriously, 619 00:34:50,480 --> 00:34:54,680 Speaker 1: like candlebar mustaches are amazing. It's not anyone's one before. 620 00:34:56,120 --> 00:34:57,920 Speaker 1: So what you're saying is that you had one before 621 00:34:57,960 --> 00:35:02,240 Speaker 1: it was cool. Uh. Nineteen, A T and T becomes 622 00:35:02,239 --> 00:35:06,000 Speaker 1: a government sanctioned monopoly as the result of an antitrust lawsuit, 623 00:35:06,080 --> 00:35:09,799 Speaker 1: he said, ignoring her appointedly. It's documented in something that's 624 00:35:09,800 --> 00:35:13,160 Speaker 1: called the Kingsbury Commitment. So at that time, A T 625 00:35:13,239 --> 00:35:16,240 Speaker 1: and T divested self of controlling interest in Western Union, 626 00:35:16,600 --> 00:35:18,759 Speaker 1: so you know, they had acquired it earlier. Now they 627 00:35:18,800 --> 00:35:22,480 Speaker 1: divested their control of it and also allowed competing telephone 628 00:35:22,480 --> 00:35:24,839 Speaker 1: services to connect to the A T and T long 629 00:35:24,880 --> 00:35:27,320 Speaker 1: distance network. They had to do so with a fee. 630 00:35:27,320 --> 00:35:29,640 Speaker 1: There was a toll fee every time they would connect 631 00:35:29,640 --> 00:35:31,480 Speaker 1: to A T and T S line. So that's how 632 00:35:31,480 --> 00:35:35,640 Speaker 1: A T and T could gain revenue through this this relationship, 633 00:35:35,800 --> 00:35:37,920 Speaker 1: all right. JP Morgan was still a partial owner of 634 00:35:37,920 --> 00:35:39,160 Speaker 1: A T and T at the time, and he was 635 00:35:39,200 --> 00:35:43,080 Speaker 1: fighting with the lawmakers known as trustbusters who were trying 636 00:35:43,200 --> 00:35:45,400 Speaker 1: to uh, trying to break up A T and T 637 00:35:46,160 --> 00:35:48,320 Speaker 1: right up until he passed away in this year in 638 00:35:48,400 --> 00:35:52,279 Speaker 1: nineteen and veiled it not continue to fight the way 639 00:35:52,280 --> 00:35:55,480 Speaker 1: that Morgan really wanted to. He he chose to dominate 640 00:35:55,560 --> 00:36:00,439 Speaker 1: through this kind of terrifically sneakily backhanded cooperation with these 641 00:36:00,440 --> 00:36:03,799 Speaker 1: smaller independent companies, and because it meant that he still 642 00:36:03,840 --> 00:36:06,279 Speaker 1: made money from them, a lot of money. Yeah. I mean, 643 00:36:06,400 --> 00:36:08,240 Speaker 1: you know this, this worked out really well for everyone 644 00:36:08,280 --> 00:36:11,880 Speaker 1: except the independence because you know, the the arrangement helps 645 00:36:11,920 --> 00:36:15,319 Speaker 1: allow customers of different telephone companies connect with each other 646 00:36:15,680 --> 00:36:17,719 Speaker 1: because it mandates that a T and T has to 647 00:36:17,760 --> 00:36:23,000 Speaker 1: play with everyone's uh, everyone's network, So the network interconnectivity 648 00:36:23,040 --> 00:36:25,400 Speaker 1: is now no longer a problem. But it gave a 649 00:36:25,440 --> 00:36:28,120 Speaker 1: T and T permission to function like a national utility, 650 00:36:28,239 --> 00:36:32,839 Speaker 1: and and it would dominate the telephone market until uh, 651 00:36:33,160 --> 00:36:35,560 Speaker 1: and some would argue, well beyond well yeah, well it 652 00:36:35,600 --> 00:36:37,759 Speaker 1: is certainly into the eighties two, you could argue, and 653 00:36:37,800 --> 00:36:40,279 Speaker 1: so so right, So if independent companies wanted to use 654 00:36:40,440 --> 00:36:43,480 Speaker 1: the widespread Bell system, they had to agree to use 655 00:36:43,520 --> 00:36:45,799 Speaker 1: Bell's equipment, they had to adhere to their standards, and 656 00:36:45,840 --> 00:36:48,520 Speaker 1: they had to again pay fees. So if you use 657 00:36:48,560 --> 00:36:51,360 Speaker 1: of those wires. If you're thinking that this antitrust story 658 00:36:51,440 --> 00:36:54,880 Speaker 1: sounds familiar, it will get increasingly familiar as this series 659 00:36:54,920 --> 00:36:58,280 Speaker 1: goes on. Yes, one competitor wrote that that this entire 660 00:36:58,440 --> 00:37:01,120 Speaker 1: ordeal was like trying to fight an octopus, which I 661 00:37:01,160 --> 00:37:04,480 Speaker 1: just think is terrifically Like, I want that steampunk comic 662 00:37:04,480 --> 00:37:07,920 Speaker 1: book about that. I'm moving on into nine fourteen we 663 00:37:07,960 --> 00:37:11,799 Speaker 1: see another technological development, the three element vacuum tube, which 664 00:37:11,880 --> 00:37:16,400 Speaker 1: was an amplifier that enabled the first transcontinental line to exist, 665 00:37:16,480 --> 00:37:18,799 Speaker 1: which didn't exist yet, it hadn't been laid down yet, 666 00:37:18,840 --> 00:37:21,799 Speaker 1: but this technology is what made it possible. All right. 667 00:37:21,920 --> 00:37:24,879 Speaker 1: This is an important advancement because of that aforementioned attenuation. 668 00:37:25,480 --> 00:37:28,000 Speaker 1: And you know, unless people could come up with a 669 00:37:28,040 --> 00:37:31,600 Speaker 1: better material than copper to transmit a signal with, or 670 00:37:31,680 --> 00:37:33,880 Speaker 1: or a way to ample amplify the signal, it just 671 00:37:33,920 --> 00:37:36,840 Speaker 1: wasn't going to work. And dr lead to Forest created 672 00:37:36,920 --> 00:37:42,040 Speaker 1: this audion uh, three element vacuum tube and it would 673 00:37:42,080 --> 00:37:44,560 Speaker 1: be really big, and lots of other industries that enabled 674 00:37:44,680 --> 00:37:48,719 Speaker 1: the development of radio, radar, television, and computers right up 675 00:37:48,760 --> 00:37:52,479 Speaker 1: until transistors became a thing in the nine sixties. Yeah, yeah, 676 00:37:52,480 --> 00:37:53,960 Speaker 1: you have to go all the way. Remember that the 677 00:37:53,960 --> 00:37:58,320 Speaker 1: first transistor isn't even invented in the prototype stage until 678 00:37:58,440 --> 00:38:02,960 Speaker 1: the late forties. So from this point until the late forties, 679 00:38:03,200 --> 00:38:05,800 Speaker 1: just in the in the lab not not let alone 680 00:38:05,880 --> 00:38:08,239 Speaker 1: out in the real world. This is this is the 681 00:38:08,239 --> 00:38:11,279 Speaker 1: best the technology could offer us at the time, right, Yeah, 682 00:38:11,280 --> 00:38:14,560 Speaker 1: I think nineteen sixties was a number that was incorrect. 683 00:38:14,680 --> 00:38:17,759 Speaker 1: Listen to Jonathan Well. By the nineteen sixties it was 684 00:38:17,760 --> 00:38:20,640 Speaker 1: certainly common, and the fifties it wasn't common because they 685 00:38:20,640 --> 00:38:23,600 Speaker 1: still had they still had to refine the design. Certainly, 686 00:38:24,000 --> 00:38:26,799 Speaker 1: the first transistor looks terrible. That's a very generous um. 687 00:38:26,880 --> 00:38:31,160 Speaker 1: And and meanwhile, via eighteen ties manufacturing subsidiary that we 688 00:38:31,200 --> 00:38:34,880 Speaker 1: have previously mentioned, Western Electric Company International affiliates were starting 689 00:38:34,880 --> 00:38:37,680 Speaker 1: to sell equipment around Europe, South America and also in 690 00:38:37,719 --> 00:38:41,040 Speaker 1: Japan and Australia. Yeah. Yeah, we could not call them yet, 691 00:38:41,560 --> 00:38:45,920 Speaker 1: but that would that would change shortly, relatively speaking. January 692 00:38:46,480 --> 00:38:49,120 Speaker 1: nineteen fifteen, that's when the first long distance call is 693 00:38:49,239 --> 00:38:52,920 Speaker 1: between Alexander Graham Bell in New York and Thomas Watson 694 00:38:53,040 --> 00:38:58,719 Speaker 1: all the way in San Francisco. Watson. So yeah, this 695 00:38:58,760 --> 00:39:02,360 Speaker 1: was that promise about getting that that long distance connection 696 00:39:02,560 --> 00:39:05,000 Speaker 1: all the way from coast to coast in the United States. 697 00:39:05,520 --> 00:39:08,359 Speaker 1: It also had two other connections. On that one call, 698 00:39:08,719 --> 00:39:10,719 Speaker 1: there was the President of the United States who was 699 00:39:10,719 --> 00:39:14,080 Speaker 1: in Washington, d C and Thomas Vale, who at the 700 00:39:14,080 --> 00:39:19,280 Speaker 1: time was in Jekyl Island, Georgia. I've been there as well, 701 00:39:19,840 --> 00:39:22,200 Speaker 1: so yeah, it's kind of interesting. I think I've even 702 00:39:22,360 --> 00:39:26,360 Speaker 1: seen a historic plaque that referenced this. But then again, 703 00:39:26,600 --> 00:39:28,600 Speaker 1: I have a feeling that Jackyll Island must be the 704 00:39:28,600 --> 00:39:31,799 Speaker 1: place where they make those historic plaques because they are everywhere. 705 00:39:32,480 --> 00:39:35,160 Speaker 1: So the cost for those first three minutes of phone 706 00:39:35,200 --> 00:39:38,080 Speaker 1: time on a typical long distance call between New York 707 00:39:38,160 --> 00:39:41,440 Speaker 1: and San Francisco is twenty dollars and seventy cents in 708 00:39:41,600 --> 00:39:44,440 Speaker 1: nineteen fifteen dollars. Now, in this one, I used the 709 00:39:44,480 --> 00:39:47,160 Speaker 1: Bureau of Labor Statistics because that was late enough for 710 00:39:47,200 --> 00:39:49,720 Speaker 1: me to do that. That's based on the Consumer Price Index, 711 00:39:50,120 --> 00:39:53,080 Speaker 1: so that's the general price of goods and services in 712 00:39:53,160 --> 00:39:56,600 Speaker 1: one year versus another year. So based on that, twenty 713 00:39:56,640 --> 00:40:00,759 Speaker 1: dollars and seventy cents is about four hundred seventy nine dollars. 714 00:40:01,160 --> 00:40:03,000 Speaker 1: So that's how much it would cost you for three 715 00:40:03,040 --> 00:40:05,759 Speaker 1: minutes of phone time on a call between New York 716 00:40:05,760 --> 00:40:11,799 Speaker 1: and San Francisco. Yikes. Wow. Uh So nineteen sixteen was 717 00:40:11,880 --> 00:40:15,160 Speaker 1: the first year that they started testing phone service to Europe. 718 00:40:15,320 --> 00:40:18,319 Speaker 1: It would not work for another little bit. Yeah, and 719 00:40:18,400 --> 00:40:20,359 Speaker 1: so this phone service, you might think, oh, did they 720 00:40:20,440 --> 00:40:23,000 Speaker 1: lay a really long cable. No, the early phone service 721 00:40:23,120 --> 00:40:26,279 Speaker 1: that would become the Transatlantic Phone Service was based on 722 00:40:26,400 --> 00:40:31,399 Speaker 1: radio waves, not on a physical cable. Nineteen seventeen, that's 723 00:40:31,600 --> 00:40:34,680 Speaker 1: the beginning of the US involvement in World War One. 724 00:40:35,120 --> 00:40:38,560 Speaker 1: Employees start to volunteer for service during World War One, 725 00:40:38,560 --> 00:40:40,560 Speaker 1: and A T and T develops the first air to 726 00:40:40,640 --> 00:40:43,920 Speaker 1: ground ground to air radio communications systems. And that was 727 00:40:43,960 --> 00:40:46,160 Speaker 1: also in the U S. Government took control of a 728 00:40:46,280 --> 00:40:49,840 Speaker 1: nation's telephone services. They would not give it back to 729 00:40:50,000 --> 00:40:53,759 Speaker 1: its proprietary owners until nineteen nineteen. Yeah, it was considered 730 00:40:53,840 --> 00:40:58,319 Speaker 1: a wartime resource. So getting to nineteen nineteen, that's when 731 00:40:58,360 --> 00:41:04,200 Speaker 1: Bell System first dial telephones there they are released in Norfolk, Virginia. 732 00:41:04,719 --> 00:41:07,040 Speaker 1: And so before this, like we said before, you would 733 00:41:07,080 --> 00:41:08,640 Speaker 1: pick up a phone and you would speak to an 734 00:41:08,640 --> 00:41:11,440 Speaker 1: operator who would make the physical switching to let you 735 00:41:11,520 --> 00:41:15,359 Speaker 1: complete your call. The dialing, of course, is more what 736 00:41:15,400 --> 00:41:17,800 Speaker 1: we're familiar with today, unless we've all just used the 737 00:41:17,840 --> 00:41:20,279 Speaker 1: automated settings on our smartphones and don't even remember how 738 00:41:20,320 --> 00:41:23,880 Speaker 1: to dial anymore. But in general, it's where you type 739 00:41:23,920 --> 00:41:26,399 Speaker 1: in the series, or in this case, they were rotary phones. 740 00:41:26,480 --> 00:41:30,000 Speaker 1: You would dial literally around the dial. Did you ever 741 00:41:30,080 --> 00:41:33,000 Speaker 1: use a rotary phone? Okay, just checking. That was also 742 00:41:33,040 --> 00:41:35,480 Speaker 1: the year that Vale retired for the second time. He 743 00:41:35,520 --> 00:41:39,600 Speaker 1: would he would die the following year. So in nineteen 744 00:41:39,800 --> 00:41:43,880 Speaker 1: twenty one, the United States government passed the Willis Graham Act, 745 00:41:44,200 --> 00:41:49,080 Speaker 1: which removed antitrust restrictions to the telephone industry. So it's 746 00:41:49,160 --> 00:41:53,200 Speaker 1: essentially saying open game for for A T and T, 747 00:41:53,320 --> 00:41:58,759 Speaker 1: and would acquire over two hundred and seven thousand telephones 748 00:41:58,840 --> 00:42:01,440 Speaker 1: worth of exchanges within the next six years after this 749 00:42:01,520 --> 00:42:04,400 Speaker 1: was passed. It was really again to help facilitate that 750 00:42:04,480 --> 00:42:08,040 Speaker 1: interconnected network of telephone systems, so this is continuing the 751 00:42:08,080 --> 00:42:12,360 Speaker 1: work that was done back in nine um and it 752 00:42:12,440 --> 00:42:14,200 Speaker 1: was also so that the United States wouldn't be played 753 00:42:14,200 --> 00:42:17,000 Speaker 1: with hundreds of networks that had no inter connectivity. But 754 00:42:17,280 --> 00:42:19,200 Speaker 1: it also meant that it gave A. T and T 755 00:42:19,440 --> 00:42:22,719 Speaker 1: the ability to really submit itself as a monopoly in 756 00:42:22,719 --> 00:42:26,439 Speaker 1: the United States. So nineteen twenty two was a big 757 00:42:26,520 --> 00:42:28,600 Speaker 1: year for multiple reasons, and that's the year we're gonna 758 00:42:28,680 --> 00:42:31,440 Speaker 1: end this first episode on A T and T launched 759 00:42:31,560 --> 00:42:34,200 Speaker 1: the w E A F. Radio station in New York, 760 00:42:34,200 --> 00:42:37,239 Speaker 1: which was the very first radio station to broadcast a commercial. 761 00:42:37,800 --> 00:42:39,920 Speaker 1: It's also the very first radio station to broadcast to 762 00:42:39,920 --> 00:42:44,920 Speaker 1: college football game Princeton beat University of Chicago. On August two, 763 00:42:45,120 --> 00:42:50,200 Speaker 1: nineteen twenty two, Alexander Graham Bell died and on August fourth, 764 00:42:50,280 --> 00:42:54,880 Speaker 1: nineteen twenty two, during Alexander Graham Bell's funeral, all telephone 765 00:42:54,920 --> 00:42:58,000 Speaker 1: service was suspended for a full minute in memory of Bell. 766 00:42:58,960 --> 00:43:02,200 Speaker 1: So you know you're important when an entire country's communication 767 00:43:02,280 --> 00:43:06,799 Speaker 1: system shuts down in your Yeah. Yeah, so that's a 768 00:43:06,960 --> 00:43:10,600 Speaker 1: pretty powerful stuff. Um. All right, Well that wraps up 769 00:43:10,600 --> 00:43:13,160 Speaker 1: our first part on A T and T now, and 770 00:43:13,239 --> 00:43:15,520 Speaker 1: we only got to nine two, so you see why 771 00:43:15,520 --> 00:43:17,799 Speaker 1: we had to divide it up. But when we come 772 00:43:17,800 --> 00:43:20,680 Speaker 1: back for the next episode, we'll talk more about how 773 00:43:20,680 --> 00:43:23,520 Speaker 1: A T and T began to consolidate its power and 774 00:43:23,680 --> 00:43:25,920 Speaker 1: some efforts on the part of the US government to 775 00:43:26,080 --> 00:43:28,600 Speaker 1: maybe uh shake things up a little bit a couple 776 00:43:28,640 --> 00:43:31,520 Speaker 1: of times as much as they could. Yeah, well, we'll 777 00:43:31,520 --> 00:43:33,359 Speaker 1: get into that next time. So if you have any 778 00:43:33,360 --> 00:43:36,240 Speaker 1: suggestions for topics you would like to hear more about, 779 00:43:36,719 --> 00:43:39,439 Speaker 1: send us a message. Our email addresses tech stuff at 780 00:43:39,440 --> 00:43:41,640 Speaker 1: Discovery dot com or drop us a line on our 781 00:43:41,680 --> 00:43:44,960 Speaker 1: social media. You can find us on Facebook, Twitter, and 782 00:43:45,120 --> 00:43:47,960 Speaker 1: Tumbler with the handle of text Stuff hs W and 783 00:43:48,080 --> 00:43:50,279 Speaker 1: Lauren and I will tell to you again really soon, 784 00:43:50,920 --> 00:43:56,600 Speaker 1: but not on the phone for more on this and 785 00:43:56,680 --> 00:44:00,920 Speaker 1: thousands of other topics because it has staff works dot com. Yes,