HISTORY OF THE TELEPHONE & DEVELOPMENT OF THE BELL SYSTEM BELL TELEPHONE PROMO FILM 52634

Рет қаралды 4,424

5 жыл бұрын

An American Dream is a short film covering the history of the telephone and the development of the Bell System. The film starts with a recap of the 1870s, a time of struggle for many in America, but also a time of innovation. In 1876, the telephone is invented by Professor Alexander Graham Bell (01:25). He believes that wires can connect everyone. Old silent films (02:02) of Bell and his associate Mr. Watson show the success of developing a telephone. However, many people dismiss Bell’s ideas and patents, and it isn’t until Theodore Newton Vail (02:57) joins the company in 1878, taking control of leadership, warding off patent infringements, and acquiring Western Electric, that the company takes off. Yet Vail doesn’t get the support he feels he needs, so he leaves the company. Bell’s patents expire and telephone companies proliferate the scene. In 1907, Vail joins AT&T (American Telephone & Telegraph) and convinces Bell and other companies to operate in exclusive areas, with a “One Policy, One System, Universal Service” motto. Equipment is standardized and operating companies are connected. In 1878, the switchboard is developed with operators connecting callers. Men put up telephone lines (05:22) throughout the U.S., and in 1915, the first transcontinental call between Bell, Watson, and Vail makes history. The introduction of coaxial cables allow for many more calls to be carried at the same time. Further developments include the first undersea cable (06:42) installed across Atlantic in 1956 and the 1960 launch of Echo 1 (07:18), followed by the launch of Telstar, the first international communications satellite. In less than a century, the telephone network has grown into a complex international system. Bell Labs (08:30) produces the transistor, and scientists work on wave guide transmissions. In 1934, the Federal Communications Act is passed to affirm the natural monopoly of the telephone industry, but that is challenged by the Justice Department in 1949 with an antitrust lawsuit, asking Western Electric to be separated. In 1956, the antitrust case is settled, confirming natural monopoly. But in 1974, the Justice Department brings another lawsuit against the Bell System, but the telephone industry and the people of the Bell System continue to work to provide people with services. On 27 February 1975, when a fire hits a switching center in New York City (11:05), the men and women in the industry plan and mobilize efforts to restore service as soon as possible. The film shows various people and jobs within the industry (12:00) before concluding with the mantra, “One Bell System . . . It Works.”
We encourage viewers to add comments and, especially, to provide additional information about our videos by adding a comment! See something interesting? Tell people what it is and what they can see by writing something for example: "01:00:12:00 -- President Roosevelt is seen meeting with Winston Churchill at the Quebec Conference."
This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit www.PeriscopeFilm.com

Пікірлер: 14

@rtwice93555 2 жыл бұрын

My mother worked for the local PacBell office when we were kids (1960s to early 70s). Something she learned and shared with us reminds me how disaster can speed up technology. The Kern County earthquake of 1952 decimated the little town of Tehachapi, effectively cutting them off from the outside world. AT&T came in and temporarily restored phone service. However, instead of rebuilding the Tehachapi switching station the way it was, AT&T upgraded it to a direct dial system. This made the little mountain town of Tehachapi one of the first cities in California to have direct dialing while most everyone else in California relied on operator assisted calls.

@luisreyes1963 Жыл бұрын

We have come a long way in Telephony from land lines to smartphones. 📱

@James_Knott Жыл бұрын

Years ago, I was a tech with a telecom company, though not Bell system. I recall some of those things, such as cross connect frames, step by step switching and more. I used to solder the cross connects on the "Christmas tree" blocks too. I'm old enough to remember when direct long distance dialing came in to our area and when touch tone phones appeared. BTW, there's an old "Dragnet" video (actually audio) from the Dragnet radio show. on KZbin, about Sgt. Joe Friday making a long distance call. It was made around the same time as this video.

@ren7784 3 жыл бұрын

I found it interesting about the use of coils and he realized that he needed only one to transmit. I also had no idea that the last T meant Telegraph.

@jamesslick4790 2 жыл бұрын

Wow, LOL I always assumed that EVERYONE knew AT&T was "American Telephone & Telegraph", Some folk called it "American Tel & Tel". I really must be getting old!

@cesarferrari3385 5 жыл бұрын

Thanks, it is great to know how these companies work.

@Erzahler 5 жыл бұрын

Thank you, PeriscopeFilm, very interesting. It's always good once in a while to go back and see how our technological world got started.

@PeriscopeFilm 3 жыл бұрын

Love our channel and want to support what we do? You can help us save and post more orphaned films! Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/PeriscopeFilm Even a really tiny contribution can make a difference.

@ScDMiller1 4 жыл бұрын

The narrator sounds like the same guy that narrates the mystery detective tv shows that air on the court/ mystery channel that is part of a local channel that airs now days (like 6-3). Forgot the name of the channel though.