Leaving the idea of expansion into Europe, Western Union took up the expansion of services in the U.S. market. In the early 60s Western Union has put into operation transcontinental microwave system of data transmission via radio waves, completely replacing the web of telegraph poles and wires. The Western Union Company is a leader in global payment services In 1879 Western Union left the telephone business after losing a lawsuit against Alexander Graham Bell - the patent holder on the phone. Western Union made so that the time in all of American civil services was the same.