One
of the most common complaints about telecommunications companies are their
size. These large global conglomerates have difficulty responding quickly
to their clients, or delivering a personalized suite of services that more
accurately reflect on what those customers need compared to a one size fits all
model. That's where the Cywest approach actually makes a difference. We
bring that level of personalization and service to fill in the gap that the
large carriers aren't effectively built to do. Everyone thinks the issue
of telecommunication monopolies is relatively new, that it began over the last
two decades as technology advanced heavily into both the office and the
home. This is simply not true.
In reality, Western Union, the company that we think of whenever we have to wire money in a pinch to our children, or to bail out a loved one that's had one too many, was the first telecommunications monopoly. It was formed initially as a regional alliance of several smaller firms. They divided up the country in sections amongst themselves, acting much like a cartel would do today in the drug trade. The Civil War helped drive up the profits and fees of the company because the telegraph was so valuable in passing information back and forth. The confederate states could not match the level of sophistication and connectivity of the Union army. Had they been able to do so, the world might be a very different place. Following the war, Western Union took over many of the lines that were built by the government, making themselves virtually the only game in town.
For several years after that, efforts were made to install telegraph lines under the water in order to expand communications globally. Most of the early efforts, primarily sponsored by America, failed but by 1866, the first successful connection between England and America was established. It would take another fifty years to actually get connectivity across the Pacific Ocean.
Meanwhile, a Scotsman living and working in Boston named Alexander Graham Bell was experimenting with a machine that could diagram the shapes of sound waves by tracing their vibrations. He thought that, if he could generate moving electrical currents that corresponded to sound, he could then audibly transfer those currents to an alternate endpoint and convert them back to sound on the other end. All he needed was a working model and some financial backing in order to test his theory. Two wealthy backers, named Gardiner Hubbard and Thomas Sanders, financially backed Bell's experiments and helped him attain patents for his creation. In 1875, Bell achieved the first early working telephone and filed for rights ownership in early 1876. Even then, the telco industry was full of controversy as a man named Elisha Gray, who was doing his own experiments with acoustic telegraphy, fought unsuccessfully for the rights.
Once again, history teases us with what might have been - it's hard to think of "ringing a gray" when it's time to call the kids in for supper.
More to come...
In reality, Western Union, the company that we think of whenever we have to wire money in a pinch to our children, or to bail out a loved one that's had one too many, was the first telecommunications monopoly. It was formed initially as a regional alliance of several smaller firms. They divided up the country in sections amongst themselves, acting much like a cartel would do today in the drug trade. The Civil War helped drive up the profits and fees of the company because the telegraph was so valuable in passing information back and forth. The confederate states could not match the level of sophistication and connectivity of the Union army. Had they been able to do so, the world might be a very different place. Following the war, Western Union took over many of the lines that were built by the government, making themselves virtually the only game in town.
For several years after that, efforts were made to install telegraph lines under the water in order to expand communications globally. Most of the early efforts, primarily sponsored by America, failed but by 1866, the first successful connection between England and America was established. It would take another fifty years to actually get connectivity across the Pacific Ocean.
Meanwhile, a Scotsman living and working in Boston named Alexander Graham Bell was experimenting with a machine that could diagram the shapes of sound waves by tracing their vibrations. He thought that, if he could generate moving electrical currents that corresponded to sound, he could then audibly transfer those currents to an alternate endpoint and convert them back to sound on the other end. All he needed was a working model and some financial backing in order to test his theory. Two wealthy backers, named Gardiner Hubbard and Thomas Sanders, financially backed Bell's experiments and helped him attain patents for his creation. In 1875, Bell achieved the first early working telephone and filed for rights ownership in early 1876. Even then, the telco industry was full of controversy as a man named Elisha Gray, who was doing his own experiments with acoustic telegraphy, fought unsuccessfully for the rights.
Once again, history teases us with what might have been - it's hard to think of "ringing a gray" when it's time to call the kids in for supper.
More to come...
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