telephones – Page 5 – purple motes

leaders in the early spread of telephone service

About 1893, the country leading the world in telephones per 100 persons (teledensity) was Sweden. Telephone service in Sweden developed through a variety of institutional forms: the International Bell Telephone Company (a U.S. multinational), town and village co-operatives, the General Telephone Company of Stockholm (a Swedish private company), and the Swedish Telegraph Department (part of … Continue reading leaders in the early spread of telephone service

U.S. telephone companies' reported costs

U.S. incumbent local-exchange telephone companies’ average cost per loop has risen equivalent to 1.9% per year from 1988 to 2007. That’s a 0.4% reduction per year in real (inflation-adjusted) terms.[1] In contrast, computing costs and storage costs have probably been falling more than 40% per year in real terms over the past two decades. … Continue reading U.S. telephone companies' reported costs

subsidizing high-cost telephone lines stimulates growth

From its beginnings, the U.S. telephone industry has included many small telephone companies. Over time government programs have been established to subsidize small, high-cost telephone companies.[1] Under the High-Cost Loop Support program, about $1 billion in subsidies were given in 2007 to incumbent local-exchange telephone companies (ILECs) that had relatively high-cost loops.[2] The subsidy to … Continue reading subsidizing high-cost telephone lines stimulates growth

the U.S. telephone industry has developed like agriculture

While everyone appreciates the importance of family farms, few realize that the U.S. has a lot of small local telephone companies. A specific count of companies depends on distinctions among legal entities, operating companies, and holding companies; incumbent local-exchange companies (ILECs) and competitive local-exchange companies (CLECs), both of which can be part of one holding … Continue reading the U.S. telephone industry has developed like agriculture

calls per phone grew across the Great Depression

Despite the Great Depression traumatically beginning in 1929, calls per telephone grew 1% in the U.S. from 1927 to 1932. Across this period, gross domestic product (GDP) fell 39%, and urban prices fell 21%. Since telephone rates are regulated, they tend to be nominally sticky. Hence the real price of telephone service almost surely rose … Continue reading calls per phone grew across the Great Depression