Profile America: The First Transcontinental Phone Call

FIRST TRANSCONTINENTAL PHONE CALL

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On this date in 1915, east and west were linked by voice in the first transcontinental phone call. This event was a conference call involving Alexander Graham Bell in New York, his assistant Thomas Watson in San Francisco, President Woodrow Wilson in Washington, and the president of the American Telephone and Telegraph Company in Georgia. Using the new commercial service was a major financial commitment. The charge for a three-minute call from New York to San Francisco started at $20.70. That’s over $487 today. Over 97 percent of America’s households have phone service. Landline and cellular services combined cost these households an average of $1,315 per year. The cellular service cost alone is over $960. 

Source: U.S. Census Bureau

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