Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
When.you.dial.your.call,.if.you.start.with.a.1,.the.computer.
at.the.local.switching.station.knows.you.want.to.dial.long.dis-
tance.and.it.directs.your.call.to.a.long.distance.switch..The.
area.code.you.dial.in.directs.the.switch.to.the.correct.long.dis-
tance.ofice..The.irst.three.digits.of.the.phone.number.point.
the.switches.to.the.right.local.ofice.switch.that.then.connects.
you.to.the.person.you.are.trying.to.reach..While.the.original.
signal.frequencies.start.out.as.analog,.or.wave-type.electrical.
currents,.they.are.translated.into.digital.signals.when.they.hit.
the.irst.switching.computer.and.are.transmitted.digitally.from.
there.until.they.are.translated.back.into.an.analog.signal.to.be.
sent.to.your.friend's.phone.
One.big.difference.between.the.call.you.make.to.check.
in. with. great. grandma. Betsy. in. her. retirement. condo. in.
Miami.Beach,.and.that.call.she.made.to.her.friend.Marge.
back.in.the.day,.is.that.all.of.that.information.is.now.carried.
digitally. on. iber. optic. cables. that. are. capable. of. stream-
ing.thousands.of.conversations.at.once.as.optical.bytes.of.
data,. as. opposed. to. the. single. conversation. going. over. a.
copper.cable.
Another. big. difference. now. is. that. back. then,. every. call.
and. every. connection. was. handled. by. one. big. company,. at.
least.in.the.United.States..It.was.the.American.Telephone.and.
Telegraph.Company.(AT&T),.a.monopoly.that.many.called.“Ma.
Bell”.(named.after.the.inventor.we.started.out.with,.of.course)..
There. is. a. wonderful. character. named. Ernestine,. played. by.
Lily.Tomlin,.an.operator.with.a.bad.attitude.who.regularly.and.
rudely.cut.people.off.and.disconnected.important.calls..In.a.skit.
from.a. Saturday.Night.Live. show.she.stated.“We.don't.care..
We.don't.have.to..We're.the.phone.company.” *
AT&T. owned. the. entire. infrastructure. and. was. pretty.
much.able.to.do.whatever.they.wanted.and.charge.whatever.
they.chose.to.charge.
That. was. all. broken. up. in. 1984. when. an. antitrust. case.
originally. brought. by. the. U.S.. Justice. department. 10. years.
*. http://snltranscripts.jt.org/76/76aphonecompany.phtml..Retrieved.2012-03-10.
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