The collection of texts provides a comprehensive overview of the history and evolution of the telephone, tracing its development from the initial invention controversies to its modern digital forms. Several sources detail the highly contested priority dispute between Alexander Graham Bell and Elisha Gray over the foundational telephone patents, including allegations that Bell may have misappropriated Gray’s concepts. Furthermore, the sources cover subsequent major technological advancements, such as the invention of the automatic telephone exchange by Almon Strowger that eliminated human operators, and the commercialization of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), which links voice communication with the internet. Finally, some articles highlight the economic and social impact of the telephone, noting its role in global economic growth and the shift in communication technology, which progressed from print and telegraph to the telephone and eventually to modern interconnected systems like the internet.