Here’s How AT&T’s Phone Network Looked Like in 1891

American multinational telecommunications corporation AT&T is currently the second-largest provider of mobile telephone in the USA as well as the country’s largest fixed telephone provider. However, back in 1891, quite a few years after the telephone was invented, the company was at the beginning of its journey, and this map of its network from that year depicts exactly how humble things were. AT&T was actually created in 1890 by the American Bell Telephone Company, who needed a separate entity to handle long distance telephone calls.

The American Telephone and Telegraph Company started a rapid expansion and ended up having a presence in Chicago by 1892, which allowed it to purchase its parent company in 1899. It’s not often that we get a chance to see such a clear picture of a successful company’s origins, which is why this map is so noteworthy. In 2005, SBC bought AT&T for $16 billion and adopted its famous name, but the original company still offers long-distance phone services to this day.

AT&T is currently looking to expand in Latin America, which is why it purchased a Mexican wireless provider called Iusacell for $2.5 billion in January 2015.

Thank you Gizmodo for providing us with this information.