TECHNOLOGY CHANGES PHONE USE

Telephones are everywhere.

The least likely places to find telephones a decade ago -- busy shopping malls, restaurants, even public auctions -- are today the most common for the high-tech communications products that characterize the 1990s.

A century ago, even one telephone was a luxury. Only switchboard operators could connect telephone calls and most communication was a face-to-face experience.

Today, families opt for two, sometimes three, phone lines in their homes. Teen-agers on separate continents share homework tips on the Internet, and parents summon their children by pagers.

Seventy percent of telephone owners have cordless phones, 45 percent use Caller ID and/or Call Waiting services; 30 percent use Call Return, 30 percent have wireless phones, and 20 percent have Internet access.

Thanks to new technologies and a multitude of telecommunications products and services, the way consumers are using their telephones is changing.

Only a small and shrinking minority of consumers still use their phones "just to talk."

A recent survey released by Southwestern Bell shows that consumers have some surprising attitudes about one of the most basic household devices. The survey was conducted in recognition of the 122nd anniversary of the telephone.

While some people see the telephone as an exciting high-tech product, others see it as the means to stay connected in today's busy, mobile society, said Daphne J. stDorsey of Southwestern Bell's public affairs department.

The survey, based on randomly selected telephone interviews, revealed that consumer attitudes toward technology and telecommunications directly correlate to the purchase and use of phone features and services.

"The telephone has traditionally been a way to stay in touch with family and friends," said Lea Ann Champions, regional president of Southwestern Bell. "Today, however, the `one-size-fits-all' approach won't work. Consumers clearly want to select from a wide range of telecommunications products and services that fits their distinct life lifestyles."

Those services include cordless phones, Caller ID, Three-Way Calling. At least 50 percent of consumers expect their personal use of communications and technology products to increase during the next five years.

Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone more than 120 years ago. Three days after the U.S. Patent office granted him a license, Bell and an assistant tested Bell's theory and the first words were transmitted.

Bell conducted three tests for the telephone. The second test was between two communities, and on Aug. 10, 1876, the first long-distance phone call was placed, from Brantford, Ontario to Paris, Ontario.

The world hasn't been the same since.

The Cape Girardeau County area had a place in Missouri telephone history.

Bernard S. Ferguson, of Jackson, installed the first telephone line in Missouri between Cape Girardeau and Jackson. The first call placed over the wire was made Dec. 17, 1877, four months before the first exchange was established in St. Louis.

According to Southwestern Bell Telephone history, the Jackson-Cape Girardeau line was built by Ferguson with the backing of John W. Wheeler, James F. Brooks, T.F. Wheeler, Uz McGuire, Joseph Schmuke, and Will H. Wheeler.

The line was originally put in to assist Jackson merchants in conveying their orders to the warehouses on the Cape Girardeau waterfront and the incoming and outgoing boats that carried freight.

Businessmen in Cape Girardeau and Jackson recognized that a telephone connection between the two cities and others nearby was important. After finalizing details, the Cape Girardeau County Telephone Co. was organized and the county court granted a franchise in 1897.

In 1878, Rutherford B. Hayes was the first U.S. president to have a telephone installed in the White House. His first call was to Bell, who was 13 miles away.

Bell eventually opened his own company, Bell Telephone Co. During his lifetime, Bell saw many telephone milestones -- publication of the first directory in 1878, the first public pay phone in 1888 and the invention of the answering machine in 1904.