Jenifer RobertsonExecutive Vice President and General Manager, Mass Markets, AT&T
“Connecting Changes Everything.” At AT&T, that isn’t just a line – it’s our calling. Today, as we mark 150 years since the first phone call, connecting people is still at the heart of what we do.
On this day 150 years ago, our founder, Alexander Graham Bell, made the first phone call. His startup, Bell Telephone Company, was created a year later, and became American Telephone & Telegraph.
When you look across that full arc of history, the transformation is remarkable. What began with a single call has grown into massive volumes of data moving across networks every second – powering everything from quick calls and texts to life-changing announcements and urgent, time-sensitive decisions. In fact, today, calls make up a small portion of the traffic carried on our network, as text messages, data and video dominate modern communications. In 2025, approximately three times more texts than calls traveled over our network.
But here’s what hasn’t changed: we often notice connectivity most when we don’t have it. When the power goes out. When a storm hits. When someone needs help right now.
That’s why I’m especially proud of the work AT&T has done over the decades to not only keep our customers connected, but support first responders and emergency service providers, helping communities stay connected in the moments that matter most. That work continues today, and it’s part of what we’re celebrating.
AT&T now serves roughly 100 million customers, and we’re continuing to invest to help lead the next era of advanced connectivity. We’re investing at historic levels – and today AT&T announced more than $250 billion in investments and spending to support the future of U.S. advanced connectivity. That commitment will help build the high-speed networks and resilience required for the next era of innovation and economic growth. With AT&T, you’ll get the connectivity you depend on, the deals you want, and the prompt service you deserve, guaranteed or we make it right. While others try to catch up, we’re not slowing down.
A lot has changed over the decades, but one thing remains true: AT&T is driven by a culture of service and a commitment to putting our customers first. Period. Alexander Graham Bell still inspires us today to create new, faster and better ways to connect. The best is yet to come.
In the spirit of celebrating 150 years of connection, here are a few historic “firsts” made possible by AT&T.
A look back at AT&T firsts
- In 1915, the first commercial trans-continental telephone call between New York and San Francisco.
- In 1927, the first commercial trans-Atlantic call.
- In 1962, Vice President Lyndon Johnson answered the first satellite call, with an AT&T executive on the other end of the line.
- In 1968, AT&T established the first 911 system to improve emergency response times.
- In 1969, President Richard Nixon called Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the moon.
- In the early 1970s, researchers at Bell Telephone Laboratories combined room-temperature lasers with ultrapure glass fibers developed at Corning to produce the first fiber-optic telephone cable – transmitting information with light instead of electricity. Today, fiber optics are core to almost all advanced telecommunications infrastructure.
- In 2017, AT&T partnered with the federal government to build FirstNet®, Built with AT&T—America’s public safety network. Today, FirstNet covers more first responders than any other network,* giving them priority and preemption and innovative mission critical technologies when they need them the most.
A look at what AT&T now makes possible:
- Only AT&T offers a truly converged connectivity experience where fiber and wireless work as one.
- AT&T earned the first-ever Best Home Internet in the U.S. award by Ookla1.
- AT&T Fiber was also named America’s Fastest Home Internet for the fourth consecutive time, also by Ookla2.
- AT&T’s satellite collaboration with AST SpaceMobile will extend coverage into remote areas, fully integrated with our fiber-fed backbone.
- FirstNet, Built with AT&T, remains the nation’s first and only network built with and for first responders.
- AT&T is investing in its network for the AI age, knowing that the demand for low-latency, high-speed uploads and downloads will dramatically increase as autonomous vehicles, remote machinery and robotics come online at scale.
- AT&T’s Wi-Fi Personalization delivers a tailored home Wi-Fi experience by learning and automatically prioritizing the activities important to customers.
- With AT&T’s Turbo Live, customers can boost their data experience at live events to get the reliable connection they want, even in crowded venues.
FirstNet and the FirstNet logo are registered trademarks and service marks of the First Responder Network Authority. All other marks are the property of their respective owners.
*Compares ground-based cellular networks.
1Based on analysis of AT&T Fiber by Ookla® of Speedtest Intelligence® data, 2H 2025.
2Based on analysis by Ookla® of Speedtest Intelligence® data, 2H 2025.
Images courtesy of AT&T Archives and History Center