Mea culpa, searching for the actual original name “Southern Pacific Railroad Internal Network Telecommunications” pulls up a number of interesting stories about the origins of the company running telegraph lines along the rail tracks.
Example: https://www.npr.org/2012/10/15/162963607/sprint-born-from-ra...
However I do not see anything resembling cell phone service happening until the 1970s.
However I do not see anything resembling cell phone service happening until the 1970s.