Food and Restaurants

The Progression of Communication Systems

Although it may be hard to believe, communications systems have not always been as complex and technological as they are now. Communication, in forms other than the word of mouth, has a long and rich history. So how did we get from the very beginning of communication to the golden era of communication, papyrus to phone systems?

Where to Begin?

So where do we start when it comes to communication? The first alphabet developed by the Phoenicians? The first paper developed by the Ancient Egyptians? Maybe, we should stick to AD and go from there!

In 14AD, the Romans established a postal service. While this wasn’t the very first postal service invented, it was the first widespread postal service that was invented that caught on. 1650 saw the arrival of the first ever daily newspaper and 1714 saw the first patent for a typewriter given to Henry Mill.

In the 1830’s two inventions were patented that would change the face of communication systems forever – the first electric telegraph by Joseph Henry and Morse Code by Samuel Morse. Now people could communicate quickly and effectively. However, the telegraph would not have a long run in the limelight – things were really starting to pick up in the communication world!

Mr Watson, Come Here. I Want to See You.

Alexander Graham Bell is a name that everyone knows. An inventor of astounding ideas, Bell took a dislike to the telegraph service and how it could not send multiple messages, and he decided that something should, and indeed could, be done about it. For Bell, serious research began in 1874 and on March 10, 1876, the first words ever were spoken via a telephone call were to Bell’s assistant Thomas Watson:

“Mr Watson, come here. I want to see you.” Success!

What you may not have known, is that there was a race to invent the telephone at the time. Another inventor, a Mr. Elisha Gray, came the closest – and by close, we do mean close. Gray registered for the patent for the telephone a mere two hours after Bell. Great minds and all that.

Hi Joel – Guess Where I’m Calling From?

So where do we go from here? Not to give you the impression that from the 1870s to the 1940s there were no inventions, there were actually plenty of important inventions. There simply isn’t time to mention them all. So, sticking to the highlights, what do we have? Computers, obviously! One of the most used platforms for communication today.

Depending on how you define a computer, you could easily say that the first ‘computer’ were the tally sticks, predating the abacus and used around 35,000 BC. Looking a little closer though, most people would agree that the first computer was the ‘Difference Engine.’ This was thought up in 1786 by J.H. Müller but was built around 1834 by Charles Babbage. However, to really go into the history of the computer is to delve deep – in another article perhaps!

After the computer came the internet, the precursor of which was developed by a team of experts in 1969 and was named ARPANET. This packet-switching network was to be the network that led to the internet, a phenomenon that has swept the world.

After the internet came the mobile telephone. As well as computers and the internet, the mobile phone is beyond huge – most people seem to have one now and some have more than one. The mobile, an advanced adaptation of the very first telephone, was invented by Martin Cooper, a Motorola researcher in 1973. He invented the first portable, hand-held mobile phone and his first call was to his rival, Dr. Joel S. Engel of Bell Labs. The first sentence on a mobile phone?

“Hi Joel – Guess where I’m calling from?”

Light-Years Ahead

Now we have PBX phone systems that use a switching system used to manage internal calls and provide external lines to internal phones when needed. We have phone systems that can record calls. Mobile phones that have the capabilities to make video phone calls. The internet which can instantaneously transmit information across the world. When you look at where we’ve come from, you can only wonder where we’ll eventually end up.