Research On Telephone Utilities Of Modern Shanghai(1882-1949)

Modern telephone service has its root in Shanghai Concession. In the phylogeny of Chinese public utilities, phone service in modern Shanghai plays a special role. It has two respective business models and undergoes three different historical stages-the late Qing Dynasty, the period of Northern Warlords and the period of Nanjing National Government. This kind of pattern was directly related to the specific historical geographical environment in modern Shanghai. The national telecom policy and requirements of communication in that time exerted an influence on this pattern, too.As we all know, industrial and commercial economy was progressing fast in modern Shanghai. People were bound up to interpersonal communications for the thriving of ideas and cultures. Therefore, a more convenient and efficient communication tool was extremely needed to exchange business information and personal feelings. Objectively, the invention and promotion of telephone made it possible. After opening as the treaty port, telephones were firstly imported into Shanghai. With the push of foreign enterprises, phone service was on right track.Telephone industry, the key component of telecommunication industry, was regarded as the cornerstone in all of the modern laws and public policies. In those days,"state-ownership" meant that no other types of investment except for government capital could take charge of it. In fact, the management structure of phone industry was quite multiplex on account of the social and historical environment in modern times. National sector administrated it; commercial capital ran it; provinces supervised it; cities municipalized it. Moreover, public utilities could not be managed by foreign companies for the sake of concession. So the government and businessmen disputed on the ownership of Shanghai Telephone Exchange, Songyang Telephone Company and long-distance telephone service. They emphasized that they were the representatives of civil rights and the defenders of legal provisions so as to take over the telephone industry. After a long period of negotiation, the Ministry of Communications controlled Shanghai Telephone Exchange and Songyang Telephone Company which had been mastered by traders, and the balance was reached between "sovereignty" and "civilian use" of long-distance communication as well.Furthermore, the concrete marketing and operating strategies of telephone industry were determined by the separation of powers, role definitions, management concepts, social situations etc. Consequently, the development of telephone industry in both foreign concessions and Chinese quarters differentiated to some extent because of the diverse historical social conditions. Shanghai Telephone Exchange was under the charge of the Ministry of Postal Service and Transmission in the Late Qing Dynasty and the Ministry of Transportations and Communications in the Republic of China. For the reasons why it couldn’t develop fully, the subjective factors were the prevalent bureaucracy in the Late Qing Dynasty and decentralized authorities in the reign of Northern Warlords. Additionally, frequent wars in Jiangsu and Zhejiang areas had adverse impact on the growth of telephone industry. In the period of Nanjing National Government, under the "commercialization" business philosophy, the ministry of communications and the governance of Shanghai telephone office carried on the combing of management powers, office affairs consolidation and improvement of the system of audit, the Shanghai government management role also changed accordingly, objectively made the central and local formed a resultant force to promote the development of business vigorously. However, the development was interrupted by the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War. Concession telephone career development environment was relatively stable, less affected by war and the uncertain factors such as personnel. Introduction of modern corporate business model, had solved the telephone career as a utilities, the problem of upfront investment, and high cost of late improved. The formation of the modern company management team ensured scientific decision-making. The close relationship with foreign companies ensured the mechanical equipment supply. Under a lot of advertising and promotional activities, telephone service got fast development. On the other hand, the Concession government franchised regulation, made foreign companies in the pursuit of profit at the same time, also was limited by guarantee the quality of services and rates charged by constraints. Phone business development after the war, carried out mainly around the consolidation and plan. The idea of the proposed joint venture between China and the United States is a new exploration of the Shanghai municipal government of the unified system of local calls.As a kind of public utilities, telephone career development and planning, was inevitable to user demand for the transfer. Telephone users in the performance of a certain obligation and responsibility to protect the parts, for cost of high and low quality of service and the operators of choice, all have certain right to speak. Modern Shanghai phone users group, and to safeguard their own rights and interests, actively to run between municipalities and telephone operators, had an impact on the development of telephone business.Telephone utilities fragmented over a long period of time, different trajectory and different mode of operation and management mode, and different industrial and commercial economic development and social and political environment, led to the development level disparity of two. In general, the Shanghai telephone office in the period of Nanjing National Government, gained greater progress in line development, telephone installation, quality of service. The telephone company in concession had always maintained a steady and rapid development trend, especially during the island period, affected by the abnormal prosperity, Shanghai telephone installation number grew rapidly. On the other hand, the two faced with different levels of difficulty in financial situation. The surge in telephone demand after the war increased the operator’s financial difficulties and the service difficulties. However, objectively, the development of modern Shanghai telephone was adapted to the demand of urban development, social progress and economic prosperity, which had a profound impact on the commercial trade, public life and the city fire protection cause. The use of the telephone changed the layout of the city. It built a more convenient and comfortable invisible space-time outside of the physical space. More directly, it changed the economic market communication, social interaction and alarm means of communication, which facilitated communication of business information, shortened the turnover of goods and sales cycle, and sped up the flow of factors of production, to promote commercial development. In the aspect of people’s lives, it met the day-to-day interpersonal needs, and helped to ensure the safety of life and property, and improved the people’s quality of life, but also changed people’s way of life and interpersonal relationships, to shape a new image of women. All of these meant that the urban social life show a new morphology.To some extent, modern Shanghai phone career’s management and development represents the development path of China’s urban public utilities. Two different phone business operating model and debugging are the utilities in the development process of cost control and guarantee civil, trying to ease the efficiency and fairness, social benefits and economic benefits of two pairs of contradictions, in order to achieve utility maximization process.