Who built the telecom network in the United States?

A "network" could be defined as, any system of things that are tied together. The network described in the next couple of posts consists of wire and optic cable, equipment, satellites, antennae, and microwave equipment that tie your home or business to the rest of the world. Without this network the Internet, cell and ordinary phones would not work at all.

The Macmillan Dictionary for Students defines telecommunications as, "…communicating or sending messages over long distances by electronic means…." The word literally means, communicating across a distance. The industry is known as telecom for short.

To answer the question of who built this network in the United States, some history of the Bell System is needed.

In the 1870's Alexander Graham Bell spilled acid in his lab and called to his assistant in another room, "Mr. Watson, come here. I want you". To his assistant's surprise he heard the call through Bell's first telephone device. Interesting that the first reported telephone message was a 911 call! Since that time, there has been an explosion of devices that transmit information "across a distance".

The first telephone company was founded in 1877 just after Alexander Graham Bell obtained a patent for the telephone in the United States. It was called the Bell Telephone Company. Existing telegraph wire was in place from Samuel Morse's telegraph network and was used for some of the first telephone transmissions. Others across the country were stringing wire and offering service to people in those local areas. As demand grew for this invention, new alliances were made to join local networks to each other and the world. This expansion became the American Telephone and Telegraph Company. The name was shortened to the familiar AT&T and the network they created is known as the Bell System. This company had help from subsidiaries such as Bell Labs—big brains that invented the transistor and carried on Alexander Graham Bell's legacy—and Western Electric that made telephones and other electronic equipment for telecom.

The MCI Communications Corporation filed a lawsuit against AT&T in 1974. This was coupled with an antitrust suit filed by the Department of Justice for the purpose of breaking up the monopoly. That suit was won in 1980 which caused AT&T to divest itself of Western Electric and Bell Labs. Regional companies—known as RBOCS (Regional Bell Operating Companies)—were created such, as Southern Bell—my alma mater.

Before the divestiture of AT&T, it was the largest telecom in America. It made sense, in the beginning, to have one company to coordinate this massive network. They gave you a phone along with your service and controlled the whole market; including the manufacture of telephones and telecom transmission equipment. When you disconnected your service the phone was returned to the company. Government watchdogs were already in place to regulate telecommunications; the Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) on the federal side, and the Public Service Commission
(PSC) on the state side. They approved how much was charged for service, watched over every new innovation, and investigated any report of abuse. If fact, they still do.

This divestiture started a storm of innovation and competition. Up to that point, AT&T—and a few small regional companies—built the network that spanned the U.S. and connected the rest of the world. Companies were bought, sold, combined and divested. Recently AT&T merged with some of its old holdings. It is hard to keep track, if you are not paying close attention. Suffice it to say, a lot has transpired since the 1970's.

Earlier I mentioned Alexander Graham Bell – the father of the Bell System. He worked with the deaf and was trying to find solutions to that problem. Little did he know his invention would be responsible for communications to the world with the touch of a few buttons and make the Internet possible. The Internet's use of this network has created countless ways to speak, write and transmit information across a distance.

Now that you know a bit about who built the Network, future posts will be how it is put together.