A Significant Date In Tech History: The Carterfone Decision

Last time I noted a notable anniversary of a technology-related event, I was a few days early. This time I’m a week late from the 40^th-anniversary date. Hang with me, please; I’ll eventually get my clock synchronized!

Although some of you may be unfamiliar with the 1968 Carterfone decision, it’s been cited in numerous subsequent open-vs-closed system debates and decisions, including the CableCard standard for set-top boxes (mandated by a 1996 FCC decision) and, as the Wikipedia entry notes, a more recent Skype petition filing that attempts to open up the U.S. cellular phone industry to non-service provider-locked handsets and other equipment. Here’s a summary of the case, courtesy of Wikipedia:

The Carterfone is a device invented by Thomas Carter. It connects a two-way mobile radio system to the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN).

The device was acoustically, but not electrically, connected to the Public Switched Telephone Network. It was electrically connected to the base station of the mobile radio system, and got its power from the base station. All the electrical parts were encased in bakelite. When someone on the radio wished to speak to someone on phone, or "landline" (eg, "Central dispatch, patch me through to McGarrett"), the station operator at the base would dial the number. When callers on the radio and on the telephone are both in contact with the base station operator, the handset of the operator’s telephone is placed on a cradle in the Carterfone device. A voice control circuit in the Carterfone automatically switches on the radio transmitter when the telephone caller is speaking; when he stops speaking, the radio returns to a receiving condition. A separate speaker is attached to the Carterfone to allow the base station operator to monitor the conversation, adjust the voice volume, and hang up his telephone when the conversation has ended.

This particular device was involved in a landmark United States regulatory decision related to telecommunications. The 1968 Federal Communications Commission allowed the Carterfone and other devices to be connected directly to the AT&T network, as long as they did not cause damage to the system. This ruling (13 F.C.C.2d 420) created the possibility of selling devices that could connect to the phone system using a protective coupler, and opened the market to customer owned equipment.

What the Wikipedia entry doesn’t mention, but Ars Technica’s recent coverage (picked up by Slashdot) does, is that Thomas Carter’s battle with AT&T in the FCC ‘court’ took two years, and was predated by a seven-year struggle over a simple passive sound wave concentrator device (which snapped onto a telephone handset) called the Hush-A-Phone.

I wonder what the U.S. telecom industry would look like today, if there’d even be a CableCard standard, and if other currently open consumer electronics and other services would have headed the ‘closed’ route instead, had the Carterfone decision gone AT&T’s way. Ideas, folks?