The erosion of a "natural monopoly"

For many years, AT & T was allowed to retain its monopoly status in the event that it was a natural monopoly. The first erosion to this monopoly occurred in 1956 when the Hush-A-Phone v. United States has the power of a third party device to be affixed to phones leased from AT & T. It was followed by the 1968 Carterfone decision that allowed third-party equipment to be connected to the telephone network AT & T. The rise of the microwave equipment cheap communications in the 1960s and 1970s opened a window of opportunity for competitors - was more expensive acquisition of rights of way for the construction of a network of long-distance telephony. In this context, the FCC permitted MCI (Microwave Communications, Inc) to sell communication services to large corporations. This techno-economic argument against the need for monopoly AT & T held for fifteen years just before the Revolution fiber has sounded the end of microwave-based long distance.