AT&T

Type:	Public
Industry:	Telecommunications
Founded:	1876
Founder(s):	Alexander Graham Bell
Headquarters:	Whiteacre Tower Dallas, Texas
Country:	USA
Employees:	258,870 Employees as of July 2011
Revenue:	$ 113,239.0 billion as of 2010
Website:	ATT.com
LinkedIn:	AT&T
Key People
Randall L. Stephenson, Chairman, CEO & Pres. John Stankey, CEO of AT&T Business Solution Ralph de la Vega, CEO of AT&T Mobility & Co. D. Wayne Watts, Senior Executive VP and General Counsel James W. Cicconi, Senior Executive VP of External and Legislative Affairs

AT&T is an American multinational telecommunications company. It is considered the 7th largest non-oil corporation in the United States in terms of revenue in 2010, 14th largest in market value and it was ranked by Fortune Magazine as one of the 50 most admired companies. The company's headquarter is located in Whiteacre Tower Dallas, Texas.

The Origins of AT&T

Invention of the Telephone

The history of AT&T can be traced back during the time Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone. In 1875, Gardiner Hubbard and Thomas Sanders financially supported Alexander Graham Bell's in inventing the first telephone. On July 1, 1875, Bell was able to transmit speech sounds through electricity however, the words can't be understood. Bell drafted a patent application and specification for his invention and labeled it as "improvement in telegraphy." He delayed his patent application because of a promise made to another investor named George Brown that he will not file a U.S. patent until a patent is applied in Britain. However, Gardiner Hubbard filed the patent application to the United States Patent Office without Bell’s knowledge on February 14, 1876. Bell received his first patent no. 174, 465 on March 10 on that same year. Bell continued experimenting on his device. On March 10, 1876, he used his latest design, a liquid transmitter hooked to an electric circuit in transmitting the first spoken words to his assistant Thomas Watson. At his end, Watson heard clearly Bell’s statement, “Mr. Watson, come here, I want you.” The first telephone was invented and subsequently on January 30, 1877 Bell’s second patent no. 186, 787 was issued to him by the U.S. Patent Office.

American Bell Telephone Company

On July 9, 1877, Bell, Hubbard and Sanders established the Bell Telephone Company. Bell married Mabel Hubbard and they travelled to London for their honeymoon for two years. While in London, he demonstrated the telephone to the Queen. The management of the company was primarily handled by Hubbard. The company acquired its first license to operate a telephone exchange in New Haven, Connecticut in 1878. By the middle of 1878, Hubbard hired Theodore Vail as the new General Manager of the Bell Telephone Company. He was responsible in creating the Bell System, the biggest telecommunications monopoly. In 1880, Bell Telephone Company was incorporated in Massachusetts as American Bell Telephone Company. In 1882, American Bell Telephone Company purchased majority shares of the Western Electric Company and it became its primary supplier for telephone equipment.

American Telephone and Telegraphic (AT&T) Company

On March 3, 1885, American Bell Telephone Company incorporated its fully-owned subsidiary, the American Telephone and Telegraphic Company known today as AT&T to operate long distance communication. In 1892, AT&T realized opened its first long distance telecommunication service between Chicago to New York. The rate was $ 9 for 5 minutes. In 1894, Bells second patent expired and the competition in telephone communication business began. In 1899, AT&T became the parent company of the Bell System after acquiring all the assets of the American Bell Telephone Company. In 1915, the San Francisco long distance communication line became operational.