From 1877 to 1984, the public switched telephone network (PSTN) in the United States was operated as a virtual monopoly by American Telephone & Telegraph (AT&T). Since 1984, the industry has experienced tremendous change as technology and government policy have combined to introduce competition and to expand the scope of the industry beyond the provision of local and long-distance telephone service. During its second century, the telephone industry will continue to evolve into a full-service information utility, capable of delivering telephone, data, and interactive video among other services—part of what David Goff (2000, p. 242) characterizes as "a massive transformation of global information and communication facilities."

The First Telephone Century

Alexander Graham Bell launched the first Bell Telephone Company in 1877, and the firm quickly established local telephone exchanges on the East Coast from Washington, D.C., northward. In order to connect the growing number of local exchanges, a system of...