
How an early telephone silencer took on AT&T - tintinnabula
http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/the-battle-over-net-neutrality-started-with-the-1920s-era-hushaphone
======
alister
> _A modern analogy would be if AT &T was somehow able to ban putting
> protective cases on smartphones_

A couple decades ago, one of the telephone companies in Canada sued a business
that was giving away free protective vinyl covers for printed telephone
directories. The vinyl covers were plastered with ads[1], so the telephone
company argued that it was theft from their business or an infringement. I
don't recall how the case turned out.

[1] Example:
[http://www.westsky.com/phbkcvr1.jpg](http://www.westsky.com/phbkcvr1.jpg)

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userbinator
_No equipment, apparatus, circuit or device not furnished by the telephone
company shall be attached to or connected with the facilities furnished by the
telephone company, whether physically, by induction or otherwise_

That begs the question of whether, in some interpretation, the human holding
it might also be considered a "device not furnished by the telephone
company"...

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rzzzt
There is an acoustic coupler involved that converts the signal into
electromagnetic waves.

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chiph
Despite this ruling, for years the only way to get online was via an acoustic
coupler (I used one to connect to CompuServe via Tymnet). In searching for
images of them, I came across this set of someone connecting to a pay phone
out of their van. I can't imagine how many quarters it took to get their
email...

Reposted on imgur to avoid hug-of-death:
[http://imgur.com/a/n4PMb](http://imgur.com/a/n4PMb)

Original site:
[http://wrybread.com/WryRoad/gadgets/coupler.htm](http://wrybread.com/WryRoad/gadgets/coupler.htm)

~~~
kalleboo
It sounds like preceding the Hush-A-Phone decision, even an acoustic coupler
would have been against the terms of service

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gcb0
this is exactly the business model for Apple or Sony and nobody seems to care.
and treat people that boycott such companies as crazy.

~~~
delinka
Neither Apple nor Sony have monopolies. Their respective offerings have plenty
of competition. This is why "nobody seems to care." Don't like Apple's walled
garden? Go elsewhere.

~~~
gcb0
they "aim" for monopoly.

They lock you in at every step they can. In hopes to archive monopoly, or
quasi monopoly market cornering.

ever since the walkman, sony tries to have a monopoly on media production.
from betamax to memory stick cards to mini cd to blueray. oh, wait, they got
it. what is the alternative to blueray when dvd goes away?

Apple tried to do that with custom ports and data formats and now found the
sweet spot with apps and media. Adobe also tried that with formats a while ago
but is giving up.

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kalleboo
And I always thought the landmark telephony "net neutrality" decision was
Carterfone
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carterfone](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carterfone)

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tsomctl
Interesting how it was used in Washington, DC (especially Congress) and New
York, yet when it was banned by the FCC, Congress wasn't able to make it
legal.

