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The First Call
Alexander G. Bell was about to make his first call with his new invention, the telephone. His first words were," Mr.Watson--come here--I want to see you." -
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The Life of the Phone
This is the story on how the phone began and what it is now. -
AT&T
In 1880, Bell merged this company with others to form the American Bell Telephone Company and in 1885 American Telegraph and Telephone Company (AT&T) was formed -
Feed Back
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. -
Phone is Life
By 1900 there were nearly 600,000 phones in Bell's telephone system. -
Today
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."
