Alexander Graham bell patented the telephone in 1876 in the United States, and in five years the Russian Ministry of internal Affairs signed a contract with the International society phones Bella. American experts have established the telephone network in Moscow, soon the city earned the first telephone station.
In Glavarhiva stored documents that tell the development of telephone communication in Moscow and its surroundings.
to Try out technical innovation at the state level succeeded within two years after conclusion of the contract with the Americans. In 1883, Moscow hosted the coronation of Alexander III. Especially for this event was organized by the telephone network, which connected the Kremlin Palace with the places where the guests of honor, members of the Imperial retinue and attendants.
the Coronation, the Commission identified areas where the Kremlin was the telephone wire, Nicholas Palace, Kolymazhny Dvor, fun and Petrovsky palaces, and many private homes, which housed guests and the ceremony participants.
the Company Bella served the Moscow telephone network and established rates. The monthly fee was very high. In Glavarhiva preserved the report of the Moscow city Council for March 4, 1898. It States that for the year using the phone, the citizen had to pay 250 rubles, and this is assuming that the subscriber lived within a radius of three miles (3200 meters) from the telephone exchange. For each additional mile pay extra for another 50 rubles. For 250 rubles you could buy then, for example, three coats of the ferret.
Despite such unfavorable rate wishing to enjoy the novelty was. However, little — by the end of the XIX century Moscow had 435 subscribers.
the Phone network developed in the country. In the office of the court of Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich of April 19, 1897, says that Prince Yusupov, count Sumarokov-Elston allowed to connect by telephone the estate Arkhangelsk to Moscow. The network passed through the village Ilinskoe.
next year, the phone held the businessman Sergey Konshin — he joined your house in Serpukhov and estate near the village of lypytsi.
the Phone lines outside of Moscow, was established not only rich princes and businessmen. A novelty was introduced in the provincial cities of the Moscow province.
Authorities knew the high subscription fee deters potential customers. Therefore, March 17, 1898, of the Moscow city Duma held a meeting. The deputies proposed to reduce the tariff to 75 rubles, if the subscriber is within a radius of five versts from the station, and add for each additional mile for 15 rubles.
But the monthly fee was less only in 1901, due to the change of owner — the new owner of the Moscow telephone set�� became Swedish-Danish-Russian telephone company. Now the rate was 71 rubles 10 kopecks (three miles from the station) and five rubles for every additional 100 yards (213,6 meters).
After this decision, communication in Moscow became available to more people, began a new stage in the development of the telephone network. The main task was the improvement of signal quality, services and devices, as well as improving the working conditions of telephone operators, because subscribers between them were connected by specially trained people.
