After World War II broke out in Europe and Pearl Harbor was attacked, the volume of telephone service increased dramatically. Thousands of telephone men were placed into service. Western Electric spent a majority of its time to war-related projects which left very little time for home telephone service. Bell Laboratories invented a gun director and improved the radar (see above). Once the war ended, men returning from the war were hired to assist in the demand for telephone service. Between 1946 and 1948, the first commercial mobile phones were installed in St. Louis and Microwave Radio was introduced for use in the long distance market. It also marked the beginning of television service and two scientists at Bell Laboratories invented the transistor that earned them the Nobel Peace Prize. The first signs that Bell might be broken apart were in 1949 when the Justice Department filed a lawsuit under the Sherman Antitrust Act. The suit was settled in 1956 which kept Bell Telephone intact, but limited the company’s business communications and required the sharing of technical information.
Just looking at this picture shows how much we have grown as society in the just the science aspect. Not to mention that phones and towers are much smaller and more convenient. It is interesting to know how the telephone worked and the background how it has come about. I can not imagine what it would be like if we have not grown so much. Would these types of towers be everywhere?
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