Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!bonnie.concordia.ca!thunder.mcrcim.mcgill.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!spool.mu.edu!sdd.hp.com!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!casbah.acns.nwu.edu!nucsrl!telecom-request From: gabe@sirius.ctr.columbia.edu (Gabe Wiener) Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom Subject: Western Union Revisited Message-ID: Date: 20 Feb 91 17:03:25 GMT Sender: news@casbah.acns.nwu.edu Organization: Columbia University Center for Telecommunications Research Lines: 29 Approved: Telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 11, Issue 139, Message 3 of 12 Originator: telecom@delta.eecs.nwu.edu Lately there's been a great deal in the Digest about Western Union, particularly w.r.t. their role in international message handling to Cuba and elsewhere. To that end, I'm prompted to ask ... what is WU up to these days? With the advent of $400 fax machines and inexpensive electronic mail, I can't imagine that the market for telegrams and Telex is _anything_ like it was even 20 or 30 years ago. I don't see their name cropping up terribly often in the long distance carrier world, so I must ask ... what is the current mainstay of their business? Gabe Wiener - Columbia Univ. "This 'telephone' has too many shortcomings gabe@ctr.columbia.edu to be seriously considered as a means of gmw1@cunixa.cc.columbia.edu communication. The device is inherently of 72355.1226@compuserve.com no value to us." -Western Union memo, 1877 [Moderator's Note: As you know, to conserve space here I nearly always reduce .signatures and delete cute.quotes entirely. Today I decided to include yours. Western Union is not in very good financial condition these days. A few months ago they sold off their EasyLink electronic mail service to AT&T Mail, and the two electronic mail services are now in the process of being merged. They still have their money order and cash wire-transfer business as well as the telex/twx part of the operation. Needless to say telegrams and mailgrams are almost a dead issue these days. They got out of the clock / time signal business over twenty years ago. PAT]