The hidden history of US public service telecommunications, 1919‐1956

Abstract

Purpose: The aim of this article is to show that US public‐service telecommunications, developing through a complex historical process, both engendered and depended on policies that compelled major changes in system development.Design/methodology/approach: The article contributes to the historiography of US telecommunications, and draws on archival sources and secondary scholarship.Findings: The article shows that public service policies for telecommunications gradually became dominant, as widespread opposition to AT&T's corporate power gained political traction beginning in the 1930s. Although substantially limited, public service policies came to encompass expansion of service, labor relations, and corporate patents.Originality/value: The article demonstrates that political conflict and crisis, not consensus, drove policy formation. It also shows that public service principles went far beyond the preferences of AT&T executives.