Commercial Optical-Fiber Transmission System

From the earliest days, all telephone signals traveled as electrical signals either on a wire or a radio wave. But that changed when AT&T installed its first optical fiber transmission system beneath the streets of Chicago’s downtown Loop. For the first time, telephone signals traveled as digital pulses of light over highly purified thin glass fibers. It was an entirely new system, grounded in over a decade of research and development.

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This custom lobby scene, Knowledge Archive, celebrates AT&T’s rich legacy as one of the nation’s most prolific inventors and largest patent holders. Each abstract object surrounding you is a unique data sculpture quite literally derived from the data points of individual AT&T patents. Every sculpture in the lobby is unique and represents one of AT&T’s thousands of patents.

There are six major patent categories, each with its own set of identifiable data sculpture characteristics. This patent is one of many AT&T patents for Networking & Data Transmission. The multi-faceted structure of this sculpture is a subtle nod to network topology.

Scan other QR codes to discover how each AT&T patent has impacted your daily life.