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Communication plays a key factor in today’s ever growing, fast paced society. It is constantly relied on and sometimes taken for granted. During the 1870’s two scientists, [|Alexander Graham Bell] and [|Elisha Gray] battled it out to invent the [|telephone]. The two inventors independently designed devices that could “transmit speech electronically”. They both raced to the [|patent] office to patent their personal design. The well known name, Alexander Graham Bell was the first to officially patent the telephone. Bell’s first success was on March 10th, 1876 when he spoke his first words through a wire, “[|Mr. Watson]—come here—I want to see you”. Since the 1870’s the telephone has changed dramatically. Prior to rushing to the patent office, neither Bell nor Gray had physically built the telephone. However, three weeks later, he put his genius plan into action and built the first model telephone. As the need for long distance, instantaneous communication and interaction increased, the demand for a telephone started to boom. In the year 1900, [|American Telephone and Telegraph Company] (AT&T) independently invented [|inductors] or “loading coils” that stabilized the signal the phone receives; this technology and premise are still used today. Later in that decade, the [|first transcontinental telephone call] was made in 1915 by Bell. The call reached all the way to [|San Francisco] from [|New York]. As the century moved forward, the telephone continued to advance and become more convenient and easily accessible for families. AT&T invented a “frequency multiplexing concept”, which allows a number of phone calls at the same time. As the telephone became more user friendly, it soon became an important part in the workforce. This new invention was relied on by the work force as well as families [|nationwide].

The idea of a telephone has floated around since 1627, when [|Francis Bacon] predicted some sort of speaking device would appear in the near future. The creation of the telephone would not take place without the electrical principles needed to build this device. In 1949 AT&T introduced the [|Model 500 telephone] which included a ringer and handset. The combination of the two attracted many new consumers. By 1951, consumers are now able to call across the [|United States] without having to go through [|an operator] to reach a designated person. The telephone helped reunite long lost family members and aided the [|US government] relations with other countries. This led to the development of the first transcontinental telephone cable, called [|TAT-1], which was installed from [|Scotland] to [|Nova Scotia]. This was a way for the US to reach the [|United Kingdom]. The TAT-1 was expensive and time consuming to install, but very functional. People were starting to realize that using a telephone was practical and not just a [|fad] like the “[|flapper generation]” because it proved useful to the [|economy]. It is a way to get more personal with an individual far away. It is easier to understand someone’s feelings over the phone as opposed to mailing a letter across the country and receiving it many weeks after the written date.

The telephone was resulting in so many successful applications, [|NASA] decided to get involved. On July 10, 1962 a six million dollar communications [|satellite], [|Telstar 1], was launched into orbit by a NASA [|Delta rocket]. This new technology eliminated the use for [|landlines] and was also able to transmit image as well as sound. The first transatlantic long distance telephone call was made from [|Fred Kappel] where the signal was received by the satellite and shot back down the desk of vice president [|Lyndon Johnson]. A year later the original [|rotary dial] eliminated from the telephone. Ten push buttons were a common feature to most phones and first appeared on the [|Western Electric 1500 model]. The next upgrade was a twelve button model featuring the [|asterisk] (*) and number (#) buttons. The progress just kept enduring; in 1965 the [|1 ESS] was introduced. This model allowed consumers to have [|call forwarding] and [|speed dialing].

Using a telephone has become secondhand nature to today’s society. Often people do not think twice about using a telephone. Telephones can be used as a resource, and the digits [|9-1-1] are very important numbers during emergency contact. Making a 9-1-1 emergency call saves time and allows emergency trucks of any sort to flee to the accident faster. Alabama Telephone beat AT&T to building its own system. The numbers were chosen because they are very easy to remember. Five years later, the first portable telephone was patented by [|Martin Cooper] from the company [|Motorola] is 1975. This first appeared and were able for purchase by the public in [|Tokyo, Japan] in 1979. As the cell phone reached the US, a plan was set up so people could talk on a regular basis. The appearance of the cell phone was archaic compared to today’s designs. The first cell phone weighed over two pounds and measured nine inches long. Today almost every week a new cell phone is being produced, displaying sleek and shiny new features. To purchase the first cellular telephone, someone would have to be willing to put down $3,500. This would only buy them the ability to talk, listen and dial numbers. Today virtually anyone can get a cell phone for a reasonable price and sometimes even free. New cells phones contain endless features, including going [|online], taking pictures and videos, playing games, [|text messaging], calendar of events, a calculator and even the ability to watch [|TV]. This technology has become less of an accessory and more of a necessity.

The early telephones were crudely designed and took some time getting used to. This could have been due to the fact that they were poorly designed and a new invention that was difficult to get used to. Today’s generation of telephones is one of technologies finest. They can connect people around the world and support the growth of our fast pace society. Since the turn of the century, telephones have proved to be one of the world’s greatest inventions that will continue to be innovated and only become more beneficial for future generations!

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