Telecom 150
After the Titanic Sank, Congress Passed America’s First Major Radio Law
The system worked while radio was dominated by ships and point-to-point communication. Mass broadcasting in the 1920s exposed what Congress had left unresolved.
Telecom 150
A series of articles highlighting the 35 lessons in Broadband Breakfast's course, "150 Years of American Telecommunications"
Telecom 150
Lesson 4: The Origin of Wireless
The Titanic sank in April 1912, Congress required a federal license to transmit four months later, and the Navy seized or shut every private radio station in the country when the country entered the war in 1917.
Telecom 150
While Most Countries Put Telephones Inside the Post Office, America Tried That One Year
Britain held its network 114 years. America's experiment lasted twelve months, ending August 1919.
Telecom 150
Lesson 3: In Other Countries, PTTs (Posts, Telegraph and Telephone)
This lesson asks the comparative question of why the American telephone monopoly stayed in private hands, when most of the world ran its telephones through a government post office.
Telecom 150
The Kingsbury Commitment Promised Competition. AT&T Got 98% of Long Distance
In the illustration, J.P. Morgan is depicted as an Octopus trainer, AT&T President Theodore Vail says 'perfectly abhorrent,' and the dog, representing independent companies, says 'I'm next.'
Telecom 150
What We're Doing With '150 Years of American Telecommunications'
Some personal reflections on the value of looking back over 250 Years of American Independence, and our broadband heritage
Telecom 150
Patent Scope, Not Invention, Decided the American Telephone Market
Bell had 3,000 telephones around Boston, and a patent. Western Union had $40M and every U.S. state. The patent won.
Telecom 150
Broadband Breakfast Course Traces 150 Years of American Telecommunications
Broadband Breakfast CEO previews the 35-lesson course tracing American telecom from Bell's patent to AI. The course launches Monday
Independent Agencies
The Internet Dispersed Power. The Supreme Court is Concentrating It
Panelists at BroadbandLive event including the ‘father of the Internet,’ the author of the maxim that ‘Code is Law’ and a pivotal FCC chairman
Telecom 150
From the Beginning, Politics Triggered Broadcasting
Media scholars argued that politics, not technology, shaped American broadcasting from 1927 on, repeatedly shielding incumbents from competition.
Telecom 150
Telephone's Rise Was Shaped by Courts and Lobbying, Not Just Wires, Historians Say
The patent Bell filed in 1876 never described a speaking telephone. His lawyers later argued it did.
Telecom 150
Broadband Breakfast to Mark America250 With Telecom150, a Series on American Telecom
Online event series runs June 17, June 24, and July 1, tracing American communications from Bell's first telephone call to the age of artificial intelligence.
