Telecommunications Events and Legislation

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Telecommunications Events and Legislation

• A short course in history
• Roger G. Clery

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1837 Samuel F. B. Morse invents the telegraph

• 1845 Founding of the Magnetic Telegraph Company
  by Morse

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1865 Western Union Starts
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1869 Western Electric founded by Enos Barton and
Elishia Gray
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1876 Patent Issued for Telephone to Alexander
Graham Bell

• Recognized Alexander Graham Bell as inventor of
  telephone

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1877 Carbon Transmitter

• Invented by Thomas Edison
• Made the telephone work

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1877 Bell Telephone Company formed

• Investors needed to expand

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1878 First Switchboard, Hew Haven, CT
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1882 Bell buys Western Electric

• Bell needed a manufacturer

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1885 Bell Incorporates As ATT

• To provide protection to company officers

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1893 Bell's patent expires

• Independents formed

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1898 Mechanical Switch Invented by Alomon Strowger
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1907 First State regulatory agencies
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New York Wisconsin

• Start of the PUCs

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1910 Mann-Elkins Act

• Regulated using ICC
• Railroads and all telegraph and telephone
  companies doing interstate business
• Uniform accounting
• First step towards regulation

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1913 Kingsbury Commitment

• To settle antitrust action by DOJ
• ATT dumps stock in Western Union
• Allow some independent phone companies to
  interconnect
• The first of many deals
• Universal Service

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1913 Invention of the Vacuum tube

• Makes rectifiers possible (convert ac to DC)
• Makes Amplifiers possible

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1921 Graham Act

• Exempted ATT from antitrust law
• Natural Monopoly
• Established a nationwide non-overlapping network

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Negative Feedback Amplifier

• Harold S. Black
• ATT
• Harvard academics claimed it was impossible.
• Gives smother, flatter response

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1934 Communications Act of 1934

• Established FCC and state PUCs
• Established tariffs

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1939 Fist Digital Electronic Computer ABC
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1947 Bell Labs First transistor
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1949 REA Act amended

• To provide low-cost loans to Independents

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1949 DOJ brings antitrust action

• ATT charged under Sherman Act

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1955 Data Set introduced (MODEM)
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1956 Consent Decree

• 1949 lawsuit settled by DOJ/ATT
• Western Electric limited to telecom equipment
  sales and only to Bell Operating Companies
• Keeps ATT out of the computer business

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1958 Hush-a-Phone

• ATT Challenged and lost

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1962 First Touch-Tone phone (DTMF)
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1968 FCC Carterphone decision

• ATT must permit use of CPE

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1969 Unix invented by Thompson Ritchie
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1969 MCI ruling by FCC

• ATT must allow MCI access

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1970 Relational Database, Cobb at IBM
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1971 Intel first microprocessor
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1971 Specialized common carrier decision

• Any common carrier can provide private-line
  service

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1971 Computer Inquiry I

• Computer industry exempt from regulation

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1971 Open Sky policy

• FCC rules anyone can enter the satellite(c0mmon
  carrier) business

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1976 FCC orders ATT to provide access to
customers of SCCs

• Any SCC can provide long distance service to the
  general public

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1981 IBM PC
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1981 Computer Inquiry II

• All CPE deregulated
• Computer companies could send data without
  regulation
• Enhanced services not regulated

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1982 Modified Final Judgment (MFJ)

• 1974 lawsuit settled by consent
• Ends cross subsidization

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1984 MFJ takes effect

• Replaced 1956 Final Judgment

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1987 Equal access (1984 MFJ)

• RBOCs must provide equal access

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1996 1996 Telecommunications

• Replaced 1984 MFJ Reform Act
• Public gets ripped again

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END

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