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Telegraph invented
Carl F.Gauss and Ernst H. Weber build the electromagnetic telegraph. The telegraph was the first step to making electrical signals travel from one device to another -
Alexander Graham Bell discovers telephone
Alexander Graham Bell discovers the principle of the telephone. -
AT&T
American Telephone and Telegraph (AT&T) took control of Western Union Telegraph Company. This is the beginning of "Ma Bell" which would be the largest telephone company in the US until the 1980's. -
Switching System
Research on electronic telephone exchanges began in Bell Labs and was ultimately perfected in the 1960s with AT&T’s Electronic Switching System (ESS). -
telephone on vehicles
First commercial mobile telephone service put into service in 1946, linking moving vehicles to the telephone network by radio. -
coaxial cables
Transmission via coaxial cables was accomplished. This wire has a center wire and insulation all around and reduces radio wave interference -
more affordable
Videophones became more affordable and practical. People could now see who they were talking to. -
NASA and the Bell System
Telstar, the world’s first international communications satellite, was rocketed into orbit on July 10 with the collaboration between NASA and the Bell System. Telephone calls could now be "bounced" off a satellite to a switching station -
touch tone phone
Bell System introduces the touch tone phone. This telephone made a different beep for each number instead of counted clicks for each number. -
AT&T "Ma Bell" becomes a bunch of "Baby Bells".
AT&T agrees to breakup its Bell System telephone companies. "Ma Bell" becomes a bunch of "Baby Bells".