AT&T Communications
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| Private | |
| Industry | Telecommunications |
| Predecessor | American Telephone and Telegraph Company |
| Successor | AT&T Corp. |
| Founded | 1984 |
| Defunct | 2010 |
| Headquarters | Bedminster, New Jersey, United States |
| Products | Long distance |
| Parent | AT&T Corp. (1984-2005) AT&T (2005-2010) |
| Website | www |
AT&T Communications, Inc., was a division of the AT&T Corp. that, through 23 subsidiaries, provided interexchange carrier and long distance telephone services.
The American Telephone & Telegraph Long Lines wire, cable, and microwave radio relay network provided long-distance services to AT&T and its customers. The connection to other countries from the United States began here. By the 1970s, 95% of distance and 70% of intercity telephone calls in the United States were carried by AT&T.
Before utilizing microwave relay and coaxial cables, AT&T used lines for long distance service. In 1911, the system connected New York to Denver. The introduction of repeater towers allowed such connections to reach across North America. In the 1930s the company experimented with long-distance coaxial cable. The first long-distance L-carrier coaxial link in 1936 connected Philadelphia and New York City. With improved klystrons and other devices devised for World War II, it was quickly determined that relay networks were easy to build, especially over mountainous regions and rough terrain. Coaxial systems connected all major US cities, but the primary links used microwaves.
Formal opening of the United States coast-to-coast connection was on August 17, 1951 via AT&T's network control center in New York City. A presidential address from Harry Truman at the San Francisco Peace Conference on September 4, 1951 opened the network, demonstrating coast-to-coast television service. The first regularly scheduled show to use this was Edward R. Murrow's See It Now on November 18, 1951. Later the network allowed events such as American Bandstand and ABC's Monday Night Football to be broadcast live nationally and permitted distribution of regional sports events, such as Saturday football games prior to the adoption of satellite communications in the 1970s.
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Wikipedia