Hush-A-Phone v. United States, 238 F.2d 266 (D.C. Cir. 1956) was a seminal ruling in
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
telecommunications law decided by the DC Circuit Court of Appeals. Hush-A-Phone Corporation marketed a small, cup-like device which mounted on the speaking party's phone, reducing the risk of conversations being overheard and increasing sound fidelity for the listening party.
AT&TAT&T Inc. is the largest provider of local, long distance telephone services in the United States, and also serves digital subscriber line Internet access. AT&T is the second largest provider of wireless service in the United States, with over 77 million wireless customers, and more than 150...
, citing the
Communications Act of 1934The Communications Act of 1934 was a United States federal law enacted as Public Law Number 416, Act of June 19, 1934, ch. 652, 48 Stat. 1064, by the 73rd Congress, codified as Chapter 5 of Title 47 of the United States Code, et seq. The Act replaced the Federal Radio Commission with the Federal...
, which stated in part that the company had the right to make charges and dictate "the classifications, practices, and regulations affecting such charges," claimed the right to "forbid attachment to the telephone of any device 'not furnished by the telephone company'". During this era, the phones were leased from the phone company, not owned by the consumer.
Finding
Initially, the FCC found in AT&T's favor, but it affirmed the principle that attachments that did not harm the network must be allowed: it found that the device was a "foreign attachment" subject to AT&T control and that unrestricted use of the device could, in the commission's opinion, result in a general deterioration of the quality of telephone service.
The court's decision, which exonerated Hush-A-Phone Co. and prohibited further interference by AT&T toward Hush-A-Phone users, stated that AT&T's prohibition of the device was not "just, fair, and reasonable", as required under the Communications Act of 1934, as the device "does not physically impair any of the facilities of the telephone companies", nor did it "affect more than the conversation of the user".
This victory for Hush-A-Phone is widely considered a watershed moment in the development of a secondary market for
terminal equipmentIn telecommunication, the term terminal equipment has the following meanings:* Communications equipment at either end of a communications link, used to permit the stations involved to accomplish the mission for which the link was established....
. It and the related
CarterfoneThe Carterfone is a device invented by Thomas Carter. It manually connects a two-way mobile radio system to the public switched telephone network , making it a direct predecessor to today's autopatch....
decision are seen as precursors to the entry of
MCI CommunicationsMCI Communications Corp. was an American telecommunications company that was instrumental in legal and regulatory changes that led to the breakup of the AT&T monopoly of American telephony and ushered in the competitive long distance telephone industry. It was headquartered in Washington,...
and the development of more pervasive telecom competition.
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