The Future Holds Great Promise
Year after year, the Bell System has provided service of steadily increasing value to more and more people. Through times of boom and depression, during all-out war and postwar readjustment, and now in a period of defense preparation, the Bell companies have improved and strengthened the communications network in order to do the best possible job for the nation. Here are some of the accomplishments that have been made in the period since 1920:
■ Fast, accurate dial service has been extended to more than four-fifths of all Bell System telephones.
■ Sturdy cable lines, capable of carrying thousands of conversations, now reach from border to border, and from coast to coast. These transcontinental cable lines are invaluable for maintaining communications in case of a national emergency.
■ A microwave radio relay route, carrying both telephone conversations and television programs, now spans the nation.
■ The regional companies of the Bell System have enlarged their facilities in order to take care of about 160,000,000 telephone conversations per day—more than four times as many as in 1920.
■ Drawing Americans closer together, long distance facilities have been expanded in order to handle more than 2,600,000,000 intercity calls a year, compared to about 270,000,000 in 1920.
■ Radio-telephone provides regular service overseas, to ocean liners, coastal and inland watercraft, motor vehicles, trains and airplanes.
By pressing keys, these operators dial calls directly to telephones in distant places.