The evolution of international phone calls has been a long one. Much progress has been made from the invention of the radio-telephone service in 1915 to the present day.
Back in the day, a call to another country involved a complicated process requiring central office human operators. Moreover, phone lines often needed to be corrected and could be interrupted by atmospheric and solar disturbances.
The Origins of International Phone Calls
The evolution of international phone calls has a long history. The history of international phone calls began with the invention of the telephone and continues to evolve today.
During the early days of the phone, it was challenging to make a call across the Atlantic Ocean. This was because it required an expensive and time-consuming process of laying telephone wires between two cities, with a network of operators in each city connecting the lines as needed.
By the late 1800s, though, improvements to the telephone allowed for long-distance calling. These innovations included loading coils that stretched the network over greater distances and audions that made it possible to make coast-to-coast calls.
However, these advancements still took years to develop and cost much money. It wasn’t until 1915 that the first transatlantic call was connected between Alexander Graham Bell in New York and Thomas Watson in San Francisco.
The First Transatlantic Call
In 1915, Bell System engineers accomplished the first voice transmission across the Atlantic, connecting Virginia and Paris briefly. Then, in 1916, they held the first two-way conversation with a ship at sea.
But they did it through a complicated process that required several different technologies and materials. Limitations on voltages and radio spectrum were significant barriers, and underwater repeater amplifiers weren’t even invented.
Nonetheless, on January 7, 1927, American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T) president Walter S Gifford made the first transatlantic phone call when he called Sir Evelyn P Murray, secretary of the General Post Office in London.
This first call was a big deal, and it took 1,100 miles of copper cable strung up precisely for the occasion. Ultimately, the line between New York and London facilitated 11,000 calls in its first year of operation. It was the precursor to what would become an international long-distance calling. The process was still years away from becoming fully operational.
The Development of Long-Distance Calling
Long-distance calling is making telephone calls from one place to another. This involves physical wires connecting two telephone exchanges and a network of operators who route calls from one city to the next.
Before the advent of modern digital circuits, long-distance calling had to suffer from significant signal loss. This caused hissing, low sound levels, and other problems, limiting call quality.
Eventually, however, technology improved enough to provide equal quality across the board for all long-distance calls. This was achieved through a series of advances in switching and communication technology.
National or domestic calls, which connect two points within the same country, and international or interstate calls, which combine two points in different countries, are the two types of long-distance calls. Depending on the rules of the phone company, local or intrastate calls may be charged at higher rates than interstate calls.
The Future of International Phone Calls
Historically, international calls have been expensive. Countries imposed these charges due to the infrastructure required to send phone calls over long distances.
In recent years, technology has made international calling much more affordable. This is thanks to several factors, including the decline of the need for physical phone infrastructure and the introduction of VoIP technology.
Today, companies can make and receive calls over the internet with international SIP trunks. This enables them to maintain communication with their associates and customers worldwide.
These services can be helpful for businesses that are planning to enter a new market or expand their business internationally. This allows them to test the waters without committing to a significant financial investment. It also helps companies understand their target audience’s needs and preferences before investing further.