True, it didn't fit the rest of the list. They did do a heckuva lot to keep people from competing with them - and to prevent better technologies from coming alo

True, it didn't fit the rest of the list. They did do a heckuva lot to keep people from competing with them - and to prevent better technologies from coming along (as otherwise mentioned, acoustic couplers. fax machines also fit in there). Bell also had a nasty habit of - when forced to compete by the government - physically sabotaging interconnect points.