Western Union has taken of 451st position in the rating Fortune 500 in 2009, having moved from 473rd line in 2008. 1980 - for the first time in the history of Western Union revenues from money transfers exceeded the income from the telegraph service. 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. In April 1851 companions registered in Albany New York and Mississippi Valley Printing Telegraph Company (NYMVPTC), which included founded two years before New York State Printing Telegraph Company. In October 2006 the company made an initial public offering of shares on the New York Stock Exchange, becoming independent from First Data company. In 1879 Western Union left the telephone business after losing a lawsuit against Alexander Graham Bell - the patent holder on the phone.