Zoom Telephonics was founded in 1977 as a home networking product manufacturer, headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. The company was founded by Frank B. Manning and Bruce Kramer, two fellow roommates and graduates of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) who had known each other since the late 1960s. The company's first product was a modification kit for telephones that turned off the phone's ringer with the flick of a switch.
Zoom Telephonics began operations in 1977 as a producer of home networking products, based in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded by Frank B. Manning and Bruce Kramer, both former roommates and MIT alumni who had known each other since the late 1960s, the company's first item was an adapter kit for telephones that disabled the ringer with a simple flip switch.