25 January 10

This is the 95th anniversary of transcontinental telephone service. On January 25, 1915, Alexander Graham Bell spoke from New York City to Thomas Watson in San Francisco. On the following day, the New York Times reported the following:

"The telephone line used across the continent yesterday will be opened for commercial purposes on March 1. It was announced that the charge for a telephone conversation between New York and San Francisco would be $20.70 for the first three minutes, and $6.75 for each minute thereafter. When one man in New York talks to a man in San Francisco $2,000,000 worth of apparatus will be tied up and cannot be used for the duration of the conversation for any other purpose. It is expected that, in normal conditions, it will require about ten minutes to put a call "through" across the continent."

Now we have plenty of "anywhere" and "unlimited" minutes to call anybody, for a dollar or two per day!