ard, would later from the Bell Telephone Company. The Bell Company would later become one of the largest monopolies that telecommunications industry has ever seen. During 1877, Western Union was quickly becoming a giant in the telephone industry. Western Union had the first telephone like in operation between Somerville, MA and Boston, MA. In 1880, 30,000 phones were in use. The telephone industry was growing very rapidly. Bell Company began leasing phones when the demand increased. Bell Company could not keep up with the demand, so Alexander Graham Bell sold his company. He offered to sell his company for $100,000 to Western Union, but they turned him down. Western Union would soon regret this mistake. Western Union would later form a rival phone company. They hired Thomas Edison and Elisha Gray to develop a new phone system. Edison would be in competition with Bell to determine who would wire America first. Out of this competition came the first switchboard, which was developed by Western Union. The Bell Company and Western Union went through many court battles, with each company accusing the other of fraud. The Bell Company eventually won, and in the 1880’s, the Bell Company became a massive monopoly. Switchboards were placed in many cities, and operators were needed to connect calls. The need for operators soon diminished when Amon Strowger developed the first dial telephone system. He and his firm would eventually manufacture step-by-step Central Office equipment, in 1892. The Bell Company would later lose its patent in 1893. By this time, J.P. Morgan bought the Bell Company, and it would soon be known as AT&T. Many independent phone companies formulated in the late 1890’s, and sparked widespread competition in the phone industry. The power shifted back and forth, between AT&T and the independent phone companies. J.P. Morgan bought out many of his competitors, and this caused the independent move...
