CHAPTER XI. TELEPHONE STATISTICS OF THE WORLD. There were approximately 12,453,000 telephones and 29,566,000 miles of telephone wire in use in the world January 1, 1912. A careful estimate places the world's telephone investment January 1, 1912, at about $1,729,000,000 which is very nearly the value of all gold coin and bullion in the United States. The annual number of telephone conversations may be placed at 22,000,000,000, which is about five times the annual number of passengers carried by all the railroads of the world. For the purpose of this compilation the world's telephone statistics are generally tabulated in four territorial divisions, as follows: Per cent Miles (partly estimated) Jan. 1, 1911 Per cent over to Total The year 1911 is the thirty-fifth since the invention of the telephone by Prof. Alexander Graham Bell. A survey of the progress of telephone service during the past year, and of the many notable events in connection with this progress, justifies the statement that all civilized nations have awakened to the value of the telephone in commercial and social life. In the United States commercial service has been opened between New York and Denver, 2,160 miles, this being now the longest distance over which oral communication is given commercially. In Europe long distance service has been greatly extended by utilizing both the new loaded cable between Great Britain and Belgium-by which telephone service is expected to be given between London and Berlin-and the new telephone cable, constructed also on the Pupin principle, between Dover and Calais. The latter enables conversation to be carried on between Glasgow, Edinburgh and Paris, and also between Aberdeen and the French capital, a distance of 910 miles. Recent progress in the art of submarine telephone cable manufacture will have far reaching consequences. At the present time there are over 400 miles of submarine telephone cable in use in the world, and of this total about one-half is represented by the four cables between France and England, and the two between Belgium and England. The longest submarine telephone cable lies between La Panne (Belgium) and St. Margaret's Bay (England), a distance of 55 miles. The European international long distance land line systems have likewise received important additions, due to the opening of the line between Paris and Madrid, 900 miles, and the direct line between Berlin and Rome still under construction, a distance of over 1,000 miles. As regards the Continent, there is now scarcely any important city that cannot talk with any other important city. By far the largest interurban or toll telephone plant in Europe has been built by the German Government, which according to the latest official statistics, had about one-half of the total interurban or toll telephone wire of Europe. Finally, it is worthy of note that during the year 1911 the great United States railway systems have made rapid advances toward the general use of the telephone for train dispatching. Since the introduction of the use of the telephone for that purpose, over 200 of the United States railroads have adopted that system. In fact, the telephone has supplanted the telegraph on over 50,000 miles of railroad, which is over 20% of the total railroad mileage of the country. A careful estimate places the miles of wire used by railroad companies for train dispatching at 120,000, and the corresponding number of telephones at 10,000. From this it appears that it takes Europe about two years to advance 0.1. Assuming that European telephone progress continues at this rate, to reach the present development of the United States (8.8), Europe must gain 8.1, which at the rate of 0.1 every two years would require 162 years. As such a forecast makes no allowance for the impetus in future progress due to the use of rates better adapted to the needs of the public and important advances in the art, the above period will be shortened materially. One thing, however, is certain: Europe offers yet a vast field for telephone progress, because at the beginning of 1912 it has reached only the development of the United States Jan. 1, 1898. Referring first to the traffic curves, the telephone has gained 277% and the telegraph 36%. In other words, the percentage increase in telephone traffic is about eight times that in telegraph traffic. During the same period the increase in wire plant was 448% for the telephone as compared with 57% for the telegraph, so that the percentage increase in telephone wire is also approximately eight times that of telegraph wire. The following chart depicts the telephone conversations of the world for the years 1901 to 1911 inclusive, for the United States, Europe, and all other countries, and shows the proportion of each to the total. 1903 TELEPHONES PER 100 POPULATION EUROPE, 1902 To 1912. It is worthy of note that the United States, Jan. 1, 1912, had over one-half the total telephone wire of the world, and nearly twice the total mileage of Europe, while the latter at the same date had almost the same telephone wire mileage as the United States had at Jan. 1, 1907. The pronounced increase in the wire mileage of "all other countries" is largely due to more accurate information. The combined number of telephone conversations of the rest of the world is but one-half that of the United States. The telegraph traffic of the United States presents quite a contrast. Placing the world's telegraph traffic during 1910 at about 579,000,000, the United States took but 17% of the total, while Europe had 62%. In other words, Europe has about the same proportion of the world's telegraph traffic as the United States has of the world's telephone traffic. Going back to the first authentic publication of telephone traffic in the United States (1883) the total number of telephone conversations was estimated to be 217,000,000. During the intervening twenty-eight years the United States traffic has reached, as shown above, the colossal total of over fourteen billion, an increase of 6500%, or an average annual increase of 232%. The annual increases, both in the telephone and telegraph traffic and in the wire plant of the world are shown on the chart on page 315, covering the period 1900-1910. The curves represent the percentage increases over the traffic during 1900 and mileages at the end of the year 1900. ment almost quadrupled, increasing from $482,000,000 to $1,729,000,000. Over one-half of this enormous increase was in the United States, where the annual increase averaged approximately $66,000,000. This was about $27,000,000 more than the corresponding average increase in Europe. At the commencement of the year 1912 the total estimated investment in the United States ($1,025,000,000) was about twice that in all Europe ($593,000,000) and was over one-half the investment of the whole world. At the same date Canada is estimated to have $44,000,000 invested in telephones and "all other countries" $67,000,000. RELATIVE TELEPHONE DEVELOPMENT IN VARIOUS COUNTRIES, JAN. 1, 1911. TELEPHONE STATIONS COMPARING THE UNITED STATES WITH EUROPE JAN.1.1911 MUNGARY have over 100,000 telephones each. The combined number of telephones in six important European States-Belgium, Norway, Denmark, Hungary, Italy, and the Netherlandsis still less than the number of telephones in New York City, while Chicago has more telephones than France, and Boston more than Austria; the three Scandinavian kingdoms combined do not equal the total number of telephones in New York City by about 57,000. The following chart presents graphically the statistics shown in the above table in the column "Telephones per 100 Population." Despite considerable activity in some European TELEPHONES PER 100 POPULATION NETHERLANDS GERMAN EMPIRE SWITZERLAND TELEPHONES IN USE. The statistical table shows the telephone development of the world January 1, 1911. At that date the United States had 67.4% of the total telephones, Europe had 26.3%, Canada 2.5%, thus leaving but 3.8% for all other countries. The high percentage increase during 1910 for Bosnia, Greece and Servia, is due to the fact that these countries are just beginning to be developed. The table shows, that, as in former years, the German Empire and Great Britain remain the leaders in European telephone development, the German Empire having about 36% and Great Britain 22% of all European telephones. Of the remaining countries, only one, France, exceeds 200,000 telephones, and only three others-Austria, Russia and Sweden 100 population-was almost twelve times that of Europe. South America advanced to 0.2 telephones per 100, and Canada to 3.7, or more than five times the development of Europe. Looking at the telephone development from the point of population per station, it appears that the United States January 1, 1911, averaged one station to each 12 inhabitants, as against the European average of one to 148. Of the European States, Denmark and Sweden are about equal, the former having one station to every 28, and the latter one station to every 29 inhabitants. The German Empire and Great Britain have about twice, France six times and Austria eight times the population per station of Sweden. In actual number of telephones, Jan. 1, 1911 Berlin, London and Paris, with a combined total of 403,500 telephones, are about even with New York (402,000). The latter approximates very nearly the combined telephones of 14 European States. WIRE MILEAGE. The next statistical table and chart view the telephone development of the world in point of wire plant January 1, 1911. At date the grand total of telephone wire mileage was about 27,000,000, of which the United States possessed 61.7%. Europe 32.5%, Canada 2.6%, South America 0.5% and all other countries 2.7%. Thus the United States has almost twice the total telephone wire of all Europe. The German Empire, though possessing the largest number of telephones of any of the European States, has but one-fifth the telephone wire of the United States, and Great Britain but one-eighth. TELEPHONE WIRE MILEAGE OF THE WORLD JAN I 1911 27082000 MILES UNITED STATES- 16.754,000 EUROPE 8,762.000 1911 STOCKHOLM AND LOS ANGELES CANADA-710,000 SOUTH AMERICA-136,000 ALL OTHER COUNTRIES-720,000 Each full Strend of five represents 1000000 s 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Telephones per 100 Population The table on the opposite page shows the estimated total length of telephone and telegraph wires January 1, 1911, including railroad telephone and telegraph wire. The statistics place the total length of telephone and telegraph wires in the world January 1, 1911, at 34,500,000 miles. Of this total, telephone wire took 78%, telegraph wire (including cables) 17%, and railroad telegraph wire 5%. Again, the United States took 62% of the total telephone wire, and 34% of the total telegraph wire (excluding cables and railroad telegraph wire). |