History of AT&T

By chris.druta
  • Alexander Graham Bell invents the telephone

    Alexander Graham Bell invents the telephone

  • American Telephone and Telegraph Corporation is created

    American Telephone and Telegraph Corporation is created

    Alexander Graham Bell, Gardiner Hubbard, and Thomas Sanders team up and create American Telephone and Telegraph Corporation under the American Bell Telephone Company

  • AT&T installs the first dial telephones in the Bell System

  • AT&T opens the first commercial radio station

    It was setup in New York, but AT&T had little interest in commercial radio, so they left but kept the infrastructure for others to utilize.
  • AT&T establishes Bell Telephone Laboratories

    AT&T establishes Bell Telephone Laboratories

    Bell Telephone Laboratories Inc. is established, where UNIX and many other huge advancements in computing will take place
  • Transatlantic Telephone service goes live

    Transatlantic Telephone service goes live

  • The first coaxial cable is laid

    The first non-experimental coaxial cable is laid between Minneapolis and Stevens Point. This was the first broadband transmission medium.

  • AT&T begins offering mobile telephone service

    At the time, it was a single antenna that could not handle no more than 20 simultaneous calls

  • The Transistor is invented

    John Bardeen, Walter Brattain, and William Shockley invent the transistor at Bell Labs.

  • The Telstar I launches into orbit

    AT&T launches the Telstar I, the first active communications satellite transmitting the first live television across the Atlantic.

  • 911 becomes a nationwide emergency number

  • Unix is born

    Unix is born

    Researchers at Bell Telephone Laboratories create the Unix computer operating system
  • Bell Systems breaks up

    Bell Systems breaks up

    All sub-companies like AT&T become completly independent
  • AT&T Splits into three companies

    AT&T Splits into three companies

    AT&T retains it's telephone services, NCR is dedicated for computing, and Lucent Technologies for systems

  • AT&T is acquired by SBC Communications