Posted on: 7th March 2023, by Hayley West
In a world where technology is constantly changing we had to mark the anniversary of where, for our sector, it all started. With the invention of the telephone and first phone call by the pioneering inventor Alexander Graham Bell, 147 years ago!
A few years after his groundbreaking invention was patented, Bell was quoted with the statement, “It is possible to connect every man’s house, office or factory with a central station, so as to give him direct communication with his neighbors” which was a visionary idea when at the time communications had been limited to what you could say in person, or deliver in written form.
The ancestor of the amazing telephony solutions that we see today started in 1871 with Bell’s invention of the harmonic telegraph which he worked on for many years before it reached a refined stage in 1874. The patent was granted on this day – 7th March – in 1876 and the invention was described in the patent as “the method of, and apparatus for, transmitting vocal or other sounds telegraphically” which essentially sounds very much like the services we make a business out of today!
Bell made the first phone call just three days later on March 10th 1876 with a call to his partner, Thomas Watson, via a liquid transmitter. The famous words “Mr. Watson—Come here—I want to see you” were clearly heard by Watson in another room. A groundbreaking moment and one that would see telephony evolve and diversify over the years ahead.
Bells invention and first phone call paved the way for telephony, the first telephone company was The Bell Telephone Company which formed in 1877 and became AT&T in 1885. The technology created by Bell enabled more than 3% of the population of the USA to own telephones within one year of the first telecom company being incorporated.
However, despite being the inventor of one of the most pioneering communications products ever, Bell refused to have a telephone in his study himself as he feared it would distract him from his work – what a fascinating insight now when, as I write, I have at least 5 telephony devices within arms reach on my desk providing constant distraction!
It’s remarkable to think telephony started so many years ago with something that now seems so basic but was a major breakthrough for its time. It has evolved and diversified over the years and will continue to do so as we improve technology and find new use cases. I wonder what Alexander Graham Bell would have to say about the move to an all IP world and telephone calls over the internet!