|
Home >
History of the
Telephone
History of the telephone -- from Bell to VoIP and beyond
April 5, 2005
By: Lori Wilkerson
Everyone knows the story of Alexander Graham Bell
inventing the telephone. There’s the story of Bell’s first
words, “Mr. Watson, come here, I want to see you,” that’s
indelibly printed on our brains from childhood. However,
what some don’t know is that the telephone was developed in
a similar form simultaneously by Elisha Gray, who lost the
patent battle by only a few hours in 1876.
Bell was successful primarily because he understood not
only electricity and the workings of the telegraph, but had
a thorough understanding of acoustics, which most inventors
weren’t all that familiar with. While focusing on the
mechanics, they weren’t taking into account the unique
qualities of sound that made transmitting speech so much
more complex than simple clicks of the telegraph. With a
background in music and acoustics, Bell could address these
issues more readily.
Chance happening plays role in acceptance
The telephone may not have gained such wide acceptance
if, as if by serendipity, the Centennial Exhibition hadn’t
been scheduled in Philadelphia for only a few months later.
Tucked away at a small table in an obscure corner, Bell did
not hope to garner much attention until he drew the
attention of the Emperor Dom Pedro de Alcantara of Brazil,
who was amazed by the invention. Immediately, all the
scientists in attendance were clamoring to study the new
invention.
At first telephones were seen as a fad that were more for
entertainment purposes than commerce, until newspapers and
banks began grudgingly using them to convey information
quickly by virtue of free phone installations. The publicity
from this made them immediately more popular and soon phone
exchanges were set up in most major cities.
In the 1880’s metallic circuits were developed that
allowed for long distance calls, which grew in popularity
slowly because of the cost. Later, in the 1890’s, this was
overcome by the development of the party line so that
families, especially in rural areas, could split the cost of
a line.
Direct dial overcomes operator interference
Until 1891, calls were put through by exchange operators,
but this was done away with by a Kansas City man who
invented the direct dial system because he was paranoid
enough to think that the operators were sending his business
calls to competitors. He was an undertaker.
In 1927, the first transatlantic call was made over radio
waves. During both World Wars, telephone advancements grew
by leaps and bounds because of heavy spending by the Defense
Department. Innovations resulting from war-time experiments
included Bell Telephone’s first mobile telephone system,
which connected moving vehicles to landlines via radio.
Surprisingly, this was as early as 1946, a year that also
saw the development of coaxial cables for major transmission
improvements with less interference.
In the 1960’s, telephones were so much a part of the
landscape that Bell Telephone could no longer continue to
use the alpha-numeric codes for telephone exchanges
(remember using numbers like Normandy-7610?) and switched to
longer, all numeric numbers. At the same time, transatlantic
cables were being laid to accommodate the increased demand
for intercontinental telephone communication.
One of the most important shifts in telephone history was
the launch of the first telephone satellite in July of 1962.
TelStar was a joint venture between Bell and NASA and
revolutionized telephone communications like nothing that
had come before. Satellites in geosynchronous orbit could
now be used for long distance calls without the need for
laying endless lines of cable and did away with the problem
of frequent cable damage and repair.
Fiber optics move sound at the speed of light
Fiber Optic Cables were first used for telephone
transmission in 1977, when both GTE and AT&T laid Fiber
Optic lines in Chicago and Boston. By the mid-1980’s, fiber
optic cable was the preferred method of telephone
transmission, since it could carry a much higher volume of
calls with much less interference. Since it also carries
information faster and farther and resists lightning
strikes, the advantages soon became obvious to the computer
and other industries as well.
When the United States government deregulated telephone
service, AT&T, the telephone communications giant, was
immediately inundated with competition from MCI, Sprint and
hundreds of smaller local companies and soon fiber optic
lines were snaking around the country, being dropped along
side natural rights of way such as gas lines and railroads.
Telephone costs dropped and a new telephone service
revolution had begun.
Cellular phones take the next step forward
In 1973, Dr. Martin Cooper of Motorola Corporation made
what was probably the first cellular telephone call on a
portable handset called the Dyna-Tac. After a successful
test run, he took it to New York to introduce the technology
to the public. By 1977, the cell phone had gone public, but
these first models were cumbersome and generally used by
those who were used to keeping in touch by two-way radio. By
no means were they considered something that everyone should
have or even want. They were initially considered a
replacement for the mobile phones already in existence. The
difference with cellular was the use of small “cells” for
range of service in order to increase the capacity of calls
handled, dramatically increasing the number of calls capable
of being made by mobile/cellular phone at one time in one
area.
The first cellular services used analog technology
operating at 800 Megahertz in a continuous wave. Over time,
the power needs of callers increased and the industry
standard moved to a more reliable 1850 MHz with PCS. In
1988, the Cellular Technology Industry Association was
formed to develop guidelines for cellular service providers
and steer developments and improvements in the cell phone
industry. There are now well over 60 million cellular
telephone customers, a staggering number for a service that
has been commercially available for only thirty years.
Next stop, digital!
While the majority of users still have analog cell
phones, the new frontier is definitely digital. Rather than
using a continuous wavelength for transmission, digital
chops up the wave into discreet bytes of information and
sends them in “pulses” of data. The up side to this is that
digital signals tend to be more secure when transmitted than
analog. It’s also a more efficient use of bandwidth and
provides clearer, cleaner sound quality. If you transmit
video clips or photos (like with the new video or picture
cell phones) digital is much faster, and will be the choice
hands-down when you’re integrating the cell phone and the
Internet.
There is a caveat; however, in that digital currently
transmits through three different technologies. This can
lead to some problems with coverage. If you are on a TDMA
(time-division multiple access) system and traveling in an
area that has digital coverage that’s CDMA (code-division
multiple access), you could run into problems.
The answer for now is the combined analog-digital
technology that providers are touting. This offers the great
coverage of analog when needed and the great speed and
quality of PCS/digital.
Telephone conferencing arrives on the scene
The first real “audio conferencing” could be said to have
been the party lines set up back in the early years of
telephone use, although at that time the advantages of a
party line for multiple users weren’t grasped except as a
way to save money. In fact, the fact that several people in
different locations could pick up and talk on the line at
the same time was considered a nuisance and was actively
discouraged as “eavesdropping.”
When party lines were phased out, the idea of multiple
conversations were forgotten until businesses began seeking
ways to carry on meetings via telephone in order to save
travel expenses and link teams together over distances. The
concept was revisited with new parameters; this time
restrictions needed to be in place, and the lines had to be
open only when needed and desired.
Soon companies around the globe were offering to
coordinate conference calling for companies based on either
flat rates, monthly fees or based on call volume, with a
trained operator setting up connections between each
participant on a dedicated line so that groups of up to ten
could talk simultaneously. Their bulk long-distance rates
enabled them to pass savings along to their customers.
Telephone manufacturers like Polycom, AT&T and Panasonic
also jumped on the bandwagon, developing office telephone
systems that enabled users to dial a client, put them on
hold then call up a third party and connect the three
callers into one conversation.
The Internet soon brought competition, however, to audio
conferencing and the cost of long distance telephone calls.
Even with lower rates based on bulk purchasing and group
rates, Internet telephony is gaining ground on traditional
telephone audio conferencing because it’s so much cheaper.
VoIP, the Internet and the eventual demise of
traditional telephone conferencing
Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) soon became popular
for telephone communications because it avoids the toll
charges of standard telephone connections. Dial-up internet
connections provided near “toll-quality” voice
communications, and with broadband connections the increased
data throughput enabled businesses to use VoIP in
conjunction with other Internet services like data sharing
and video conferencing. With the money saved using VoIP, it
seems obvious that using analog phone lines for telephone
conferencing will soon be a thing of the past.
Most VoIP audio conferencing technologies give you the
capability to network multiple groups or parties from
different geographical locations, making it simple to hold
an international sales staff meeting. Web conferencing
solutions using VoIP from companies such as
Voxwire,
TTCGlobalTalk and
VoiceCafé can provide almost unlimited
conference room seats for a meeting, limited only by the
bandwidth of the VoIP server.
As the Internet becomes a standard part of any suite of
office equipment, analog telephone services, audio
conferencing and their equipment will soon become obsolete.
Audio conferencing will be done more and more on the
Internet using VoIP based web conferencing services offering
powerful collaborative services that go beyond just simple
voice communications. For placing calls, digital phone
services like
Vonage and
Packet8 that implement VoIP over
broadband connections will step in to offer less expensive,
more comprehensive calling options to meet the needs of
individuals and companies going into the future.
About the Author
Lori Wilkerson is a successful freelance writer providing practical information and advice for
consumers and businesses about everything related to
audio
conferencing services and
VoIP providers. Her numerous articles include tips for saving both time and money; product reviews and reports; and other valuable insights for persons searching the Internet for information about
how VoIP works and related topics.
Also See: [
Latest conference calling technology news -- web conference
calling ]
[ Choosing the right headsets to
make daily communication easier ]
[ Conference phone guide
& tips when shopping for conference call phones ]
Home Page:
[ Audio-Conferencing-Guide.com ]
[ top of page ]
|
