The Legacy Of The Louisiana Independent Telephone Industry
Past, Present And Future

I. The Past | II. The Present | III. The Future

The telephone industry began in 1877 with the formation of the first telephone company, with twenty-two subscribers. This modest first telephone enterprise was the origin of what would become one of the world's largest corporations: American Telephone & Telegraph (AT&T), or the Bell System. From this beginning, the popularity of the telephone grew rapidly, as indicated by nearly seventeen million telephones being in service in the United States by 1925.

This wide spread growth presented an overwhelming challenge to AT&T in expanding its' telephone network in order to satisfy the ever growing demand. By necessity, much of AT&T's resources were dedicated to building telephone networks and providing service in large metropolitan, urban areas. Most of the rural areas in the United States were not served, even though the demand for telephone services in these areas was apparent. Independent telephone companies (Independents) had their origin in efforts to provide service in these rural areas which AT&T either could not, or would not, serve.

Many Independents began as family organizations, often including a few friends. One company formed in Louisiana got its start by running a wire to a remote oil well in the swamp. The genesis for another was when it was deemed necessary to keep men on irrigation canals informed when to close and open flumes on rice fields. To encourage these local investments and expansion of telephone service, the federal government formed the Rural Electrification Association (REA) to provide low interest loans to these Independent operations.

Over the years, the Independent telephone industry across the nation has contributed significantly to the innovations and improvements that all add up to America enjoying the finest and most comprehensive telephone system in the world. To mention a few, independent companies were first with the hand-set telephone, first with dial phones, with pay stations, with microwave transmission, direct distance dialing, rural lines, selective ringing and countless technical improvements.