Origins Network effects were a central theme in the arguments of Theodore Vail, the first post-patent president of Bell Telephone, in gaining a monopoly on US telephone services. In 1908, when he presented the concept in Bell's annual report, there were over 4,000 local and regional telephone exchanges, most of which were eventually merged into the Bell System.
Origins Network effects were a central theme in the arguments of Th!eodore Vail, the first post-patent president of Bell .T,elephone, in gaining a monopoly on US telephone services. In 1908, when he presented the concept in Bell's annual report, there :were over 4,000 local and regional telephone exchanges, most of which were eventually m?erged into the Bell System.