The National Traffic System has been around for 75 years. From the current (September) NTS Letter, Bud Hippisley W2RU writes in the first of a two-part article on the history of the network:

October 2024 marks the 75th anniversary of the National Traffic System®. When I peruse net bulletins and correspondence that accompanied the birth and infancy of NTS®, I am amazed the system even survived the early years! Of course, not only did it survive, it went on to thrive in subsequent decades! As George Hart, W1NJM, wrote later in the ’50s, it did so not because HQ attempted to force it on amateurs but, rather, because of the “dogged determination” of a majority of traffic handlers of the day. This month and next, I’m describing a few of the challenges NTS® faced at the beginning.

October 1st was the target date publicized in September 1949 QST, but — because traffic nets of the era generally only formally operated Monday through Friday local time — full-up system operation began on the evening of Monday, October 3rd (which, of course, was really October 4th UTC). That’s when the four newly appointed area net managers had agreed to hold their nets’ first sessions, and most region net managers were planning to start as well. Nearly all section nets were already in existence; all that becoming part of NTS® required of them was to assign representatives to take out-of-section traffic to the new region net each weekday evening and bring back incoming traffic later that evening.

The NTS® Letter is published monthly and is free of charge to ARRL members. An online archive is also available.