The history of private datacommunication 4281

Al Kossow

The book "IBM's Early Computers" is the main source and is strongly recommended. Also by same authors "IBM System-360". A summary book is "Building IBM" by Emerson Pugh.

Article in New York Times around 1944. At that time--even before the war ended--a number of players were seeking FCC microwave licenses for postwar work.

book ibid.

George Oslin's Story of Telecommunications (a fair book) ,

Also Western Union Technical Review. The telecom newsgroup has an archives with these available on it; a little cumbersome to use but interesting. I think one contributor on this newsgroup did the scanning; I greatly appreciate his efforts.

See also Bell Labs History of Engineering & Science, 1875-1925 for teletype and carrier aspects.

Anyone interested in this sort of stuff should check out a large library. Many college libraries allow visitors for reference. Usually they have old IBM and AT&T annual reports as well as the New York Times on microfiche with an index. The full New York Times is also available on line at some libraries which is easier than microfilm but takes some experimentation in key words for searching. Sometimes you get too much, sometimes not enough.

I want to note that most early data communications was strictly batch transmissions, that is, a "batch" of punched cards or a file being sent. "Real time" interactive communications came a little later, such as with SAGE and the SABRE airline reservation system.