This document provides a brief history of telephone technology from Alexander Graham Bell's invention of the telephone in 1876 to the development of modern VoIP phone systems. It describes the early telephone networks which relied on manual switchboards operated by human operators to connect calls. Over the decades, technology advanced to automatic switching systems, the introduction of dial phones, and the integration of data transmission over phone lines. This paved the way for voice over internet protocol (VoIP) phone service providers that allow phone calls to be made over broadband internet connections rather than separate phone lines.

1. A Quick History
of VoIP Phones
From the first phone call to modern VoIP Providers

2. The phone on your desk, and in your
hand, is an underestimated business tool.
Business owners don’t realize how much
they rely on their phones until it stops
functioning.

3. Let’s explore the history of this important
communication tool…

4. If you cant imagine a day without your
phone, thank Alexander Graham Bell, the
inventor of the telephone.

5. Bell executes the first successful phone
call and takes a step towards
communication as we know it today.
1876

6. In the years after Bell’s invention,
telephone switchboards are used to
connect two parties so that they can
communicate.

7. At this point, making a phone call requires
a switchboard that necessitates an
operator to manually connect the two
callers using a panel of jacks and wires.

8. Telephones at this time are made of
wood and need to be hand-cranked to
operate.

9. Thomas Edison and Tivadar Puskas are
the brains behind a telephone exchange.
The Bell Telephone Company builds one
and inspires future designs.
1877

10. Behold the first office phone. Bell makes
some much needed improvements to the
telephone and introduces the candlestick
telephone.

11. Two years after the telephone
switchboard exchange is invented,
the first commercial North American
telephone exchange opens in Connecticut.
1878

12. Due to increasing popularity and
switchboards getting larger, technology
shifts to a Panel Machine Switching
System in the 1920s, which is an early
type of automatic telephone exchange that
eliminates the need for multiple
switchboards.

13. Almon Strowger modernizes the office
phone with the invention of the rotary dial
telephone.
1892

14. It is advertised as “one of the answers to
the modern cry for greater efficiency in
everything.”
…sound familiar?

15. The rotary phone, in its various models,
shares the telephone market with the
candlestick until the 1930s. The rotary
dial telephone remains a popular choice as
a home and office phone until the 1960s.

16. The first direct dialing distance service is
implemented in New Jersey, which allow a
caller to reach another user outside of the
local calling area without operator
assistance.
1951

17. Modems are now being used for direct
connection by way of phone lines, which
are used to transmit and decode digital
data.
1958

18. The introduction of modems will
eventually lead to the introduction of echo
cancellation, broadband, radio, and our
beloved Wi-Fi.

19. As cell phone electronics are developed,
push button phones begin replacing the
rotary dial phones.
1960s

20. The office phone is now easier to use and
with answering machine technology
gaining popularity, people’s behavior
towards communicating is changing.

21. The following decades lead to advances
that make the Asterisk Private Branch
Exchange possible, and help power VoIP
providers as we know them today.

22. Looking for office phones that stand
the test of time?
FastPBX has a great selection of Cisco
office phones, along with VoIP phone
service for all of your business
communication needs.

23. FastPBX Business Phone System
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