Record-Breaking Costs of 1920s Transatlantic Phone Calls

In the 1920s, before modern communication technologies, transatlantic phone calls represented a revolutionary yet incredibly expensive advancement in global connectivity. The inaugural two-way transatlantic call between London and New York City occurred on March 6, 1926, quickly followed by the launch of the first commercial service on January 7, 1927. This service, marked by a conversation between AT&T’s Walter S. Gifford and the British GPO’s Sir Evelyn P. Murray, instantly transformed commercial communications, with reports of over $6 million worth of business conducted between the cities on its first day.

However, the benefits came with substantial financial risks. These initial cross-pond calls were exorbitantly priced, costing around $25 a minute, equivalent to approximately $460 today. This meant businesses and individuals had to “speculate to accumulate,” quickly accumulating massive bills. A notable example of this was American businessman Floyd B. Odlum, who, in 1928, made a 95-minute call from London’s Savoy Hotel to New York. This single call, confirmed as a record for both length and cost by the Transatlantic telephone service, set him back a staggering £285, which translates to over £15,500 in modern currency. Despite the immense cost, Odlum deemed it “worth it.”

Odlum’s expenditure, however, paled in comparison to that of another American businessman, William C. Durant. Durant reportedly spent £5,000 on long-distance calls between London, New York, Berlin, and Paris in less than a week, an amount exceeding a quarter of a million pounds in today’s money. These instances highlight the extraordinary cost of early international communication, even as they facilitated unprecedented global business interactions. The article also briefly mentions Brown’s Hotel claiming to host London’s first phone call by Alexander Graham Bell in 1877, predating transatlantic services.

(Source: https://londonist.com/london/history/expensive-phone-call-london-1928)