The hidden history of US public service telecommunications, 1919‐1956

Abstract

Purpose

The aim of this article is to show that US public‐service telecommunications, developing through a complex historical process, both engendered and depended on policies that compelled major changes in system development.

Design/methodology/approach

The article contributes to the historiography of US telecommunications, and draws on archival sources and secondary scholarship.

Findings

The article shows that public service policies for telecommunications gradually became dominant, as widespread opposition to AT&T's corporate power gained political traction beginning in the 1930s. Although substantially limited, public service policies came to encompass expansion of service, labor relations, and corporate patents.

Originality/value

The article demonstrates that political conflict and crisis, not consensus, drove policy formation. It also shows that public service principles went far beyond the preferences of AT&T executives.

Citation

Schiller, D. (2007), "The hidden history of US public service telecommunications, 1919‐1956", info, Vol. 9 No. 2/3, pp. 17-28. https://doi.org/10.1108/14636690710734625