The Bell System Technical Journal 



October^ 1932 



World-Wide Telephony — Its Problems and Future * 



By BANCROFT GHERARDI and FRANK B. JEWETT 



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 differ- 

 ences 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 

 of assistance. The authors also express appreciation of the assistance 

 given them by a number of their associates in the American Telephone and 

 Telegraph Company, particularly Messrs. O. B. Blackwell, A. B. Clark, 

 L. Espenschied, O. T. Laube, H. S. Osborne and H. E. Shreeve. 



* Presented at The International Electrical Congress, Paris, France, July 5-12, 

 1932. 



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