World-Wide Telephony-Its Problems and Future*

Abstract

The rapid development of large telephone networks giving a high grade of service between large numbers of telephones in continental areas has laid the foundation for the development of world‐wide telephone service. Beginning in 1927 with the establishment of the first commercial telephone circuit between Europe and North America, intercontinental telephone service has, during the past five years, extended rapidly, and with further extensions already definitely planned, will embrace all of the continents and make possible the connection together of practically any two telephones in the world. Up to the present time radio has been used to overcome the peculiar technical obstacles in the provision of intercontinental circuits. Two portions of the radio spectrum are suitable for this purpose, the long wave providing only a few circuits and the short wave providing for possibly several hundred circuits in the world as a whole. Plans have already been made for the important route between Europe and North America to supplement these with a telephone cable and the use of wire lines for intercontinental routes may become more important in the future. The full development of intercontinental telephony is affected by a number of general difficulties. Of these the differences in time between different parts of the earth's surface are inherent. Differences in language both affect the ease with which customers can converse over the telephone, and complicate the operating problem. Furthermore, some of the differences in operating and commercial practices in the telephone networks of different continents which have in the past developed largely independently of each other, require consideration in the building up of intercontinental services. The full development of intercontinental telephony is dependent upon the continued progress in working out these problems and in an extension of the brilliant scientific and engineering achievements which have made possible the present services. It is to be expected that with the further growth of intercontinental service it will be found desirable in the future to adopt a general world‐wide plan for the routing of intercontinental messages somewhat comparable to the plans for continental telephone service already under consideration or in use. While political considerations may temporarily affect the form of the world‐wide network, ultimately the requirements of economy and good service will no doubt be determining factors in such a plan. It is to be hoped that the continued closer knitting together of the nations and races of the world by intercontinental telephone circuits will be a great contribution to international friendship and good will. The authors wish to acknowledge their indebtedness to a number of telephone administrations who have provided them with information regarding present and proposed intercontinental services, supplementing the data previously published. They have also drawn freely on the material presented in the bibliography of Appendix 2, and this material has been...