In the early forties of the 20th century, Western Union has used the first time a commercial intercity microwave transmission system. America was on the verge of civil war and needed a reliable connection between the North and South. On the telegraph market of the USA at this time were operated with six large companies: American Telegraph Company, New York Albany and Buffalo Electro-Magnetic Telegraph Company, Atlantic and Ohio Telegraph, Illinois & Mississippi Telegraph Company, New Orleans & Ohio Telegraph Company, and the brainchild of Sibley & Co. - The Western Union Telegraph. 1998 - the number of points of money transfers worldwide reached 50,000. The network of money transfers of Western Union is the world's largest. Leaving the idea of expansion into Europe, Western Union took up the expansion of services in the U.S. market. In 1866, Sibley ordered the engineers to develop a Western Union telegraph system of stock quotes in real time. Thanks to cooperation with Western Union the Associated Press at the end of the XIX century took almost monopolistic position in the U.S. market news. On the market was placed about 765 million of ordinary shares of the company. On the first day trading on the exchange the company's shares rose by 3.3% and the cost was $ 19.96. In the 1910-1920 years. Western Union is actively engaged in researching, innovating in the field of data transmission. In October 1871 the company Western Union began to provide money transfer services, drawing on its own extensive telegraph network.