For my first technology EOTO, I chose long distance calling as my technology to teach to the class. Phone calling is a very interesting technology to choose, since everyday we use our phones to interact and communicate with others regardless of their location. Long distance calling allows a call to be made to a location outside a defined local calling area. The first long distance wired phone call occurred in February of 1877. Alexander Graham Bell, a famous inventor and scientist, was the first person to complete a call from outside a defined area, as Bell broke boundaries that were unimaginable. Bell completed this call from Salem, MA to Boston, MA, where his sidekick Thomas Watson was receiving the words of Bell on the other side. The tools they invented are described as a ten by eight inch wooden box with hole on the side. The caller would have to listen and speak from the same hole on the front of the box. Thomas Watson played a huge role in discovering this new technology, as he created a thumper mechanic to allow the receiver that a call was coming through. The two would exchange simple greetings to one another and were impressed their technology worked so well. These two inventors would later create the first effective transcontential call across the United States. This is when a call in within the same country, but in a different state. Thomas Watson started this call from New York City. Alexander Bell was receiving the call on the other side of the country, in San Fransisco which means this call traveled around 3,400 miles. President Woodrow Wilson and the two mayors were also involved in the call observing this milestone in technological history. Both of these calls allowed a change in the way people communicate, since users can have conversations without being right beside someone. The phone is credited as Bell’s greatest invention, and rightfully so.
Long distance calling is categorized into two types, national and international calling. National calls connect calls that are within the same country. International calls are farther ranged calls that connect callers between 2 different countries. Costs of these phone calls vary by country, as international calling tends to be more expensive. I have traveled out of the country before, and it has always sparked my interest why international calls are so expensive and using cell service in another country. While a call is made, gateways and ‘legs’ of the calls are charged by numerous third parties. If you have Verizon, they have to cover each of the costs and have to charge these in order to make profit on your call. Basically, these calls have to go through multiple gateways and foreign networks to be user effective.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_transcontinental_telephone_call
https://guides.loc.gov/chronicling-america-telephone-invention
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