FREE ESSAY ON ADVANCEMENTS IN TELECOMMUNICATIONS

ADVANCEMENTS IN TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Today, telecommunications technology affects lives to a greater degree than ever before.
Communication has evolved over many years from the earliest attempts at verbal
communication to the use of sophisticated technology to enhance the ability to
communicate effectively with others. Every time a telephone call is made, a television is
watched, or a personal computer is used, benefits of telecommunication technologies are
being received. The concept of telecommunications may be defined as the transmission of
information from one location to another by electronic means. Telecommunications is using
electronic systems to communicate. Life is changing constantly and has been changing
faster since the rapid advancements in telecommunication. 
Because of continuing attempts to find better and more efficient ways to communicate, the
process of communication has steadily improved. Many of these improvements were made
without the use of electronic technology. Human beings' earliest attempts at
communication were through nonverbal means such as facial expressions and gesturing. The
use of these nonverbal signs, prehistoric people were able to communicate emotions such
as fear, anger, and happiness. More specific motions, such as pointing, allowed them to
convey more information .
Verbal communication probably started with a series of disorganized but meaningful sounds
(grunts and snarls). These sounds slowly developed into a system of organized, spoken
language that truly allowed humans to share information (Croal 59). Writing, which is the
use of symbols to represent language, began with early cave drawings, progressed to
picture writings such as hieroglyphics, and finally evolved into the handwritten language
we use today (Croal 61). As civilization developed, people found it necessary to
communicate their ideas to one another over greater distances. The earliest method of
transporting information was to carry it from place to place; but as the development of
commerce made speed an essential part, greater effort was expended to increase the rate
at which ideas were transmitted (Croal62). 
The search for rapid transport of information led to the formation of the pony express in
1860 (Cozic 77). Although the pony express required several weeks to carry mail from the
East Coast to the West Coast, it was a vast improvement over the earlier methods. The
pony express was not the only time humans teamed up with animals to attempt to improve
communications. Dogs and pigeons were used to carry messages, especially during wartime .
Most, if not all, of the early forms of communication had two significant problems. Both
the speed at which information could be effectively communicated and the distance over
which information could be sent were severely limited. With the advancements in forms of
electronic communication, these problems were solved.
It was even before the pony express that a true technological breakthrough was made. In
1844, the first electronic transmission occurred when Samuel Morse developed a system of
dots and dashes to symbolize letters of the alphabet. A transmission device called the
telegraph was used to send the coded signals over wires. The telegraph was to become the
primary method of reliable and rapid communication during the American Civil War .
It took quite a few years to link the major cities of America by telegraph wires, but by
1861 the pony express was replaced . Telegraphic communication became a major part of
America's business and military history. One of the early telegraph companies, Western
Union, became the dominant carrier. Today, Western Union, through the use of modern
technology, transmits information twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Actual
voice communication over distance finally became possible in 1876 when Alexander Graham
Bell held the first telephone conversation with his assistant, Thomas Watson . This
alternative to written communication rapidly helped the telephone become the world's most
important communication tool. By 1866 the first successful attempt to link Europe and
America by undersea cable had been accomplished. This cable was capable of carrying
telegraph data only . The telephone today remains a vital tool, and like the telegraph,
the telephone is constantly being improved by modern technology . 
By 1900, the goal of communication technologists was to find a method of transmitting
messages over long distances without the need for wires. That dream became reality in
1901 when Gugliellmo Marconi and two assistants stood on a hill in Newfoundland and
listened carefully to their receiver. Faintly they heard the Morse code "dot-dot-dot,"
the letter s. the signal had traveled 1,700 miles from Cornwall, England, and it
represented the first successful wireless transmission. This success led Marconi to form
Marconi Wireless Telegraphy Company. It was not until the Titanic disaster in 1912,
however, that wireless transmissions became commercially profitable. As the 
Titanic was sinking, the ship's radio operator transmitted distress signals over his
wireless telegraph. A passing ship, the Carpathia, which sped to the Titanic's location
and rescued 700 of the 2,200 people aboard, picked up the signals. Shortly after this
disaster, most maritime nations required wireless telegraphs on all large ships. The
Marconi experiment eventually led to the development of the radio. On an evening in
November, 1920, radio station KDKA in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, went on the air with the
first live radio broadcast. By 1922, 564 radio stations were on the air. Today, thousands
of radio stations broadcast our favorite music, news, weather, and sports information .
As important as it was, the impact of the transmission of sounds by wire and by wireless
methods seems minor, when the effect of television, the device that permits the
transmission of both sounds and images. In 1926 J.L. Baird, working with the British
Broadcasting Company (BBC), became the first person to transmit a television picture, and
in 1936 the world's first television service was introduced . By 1948, twenty television
stations were on the air. The first color television service began in the United States
in 1954 . Sociologist James K. Martin believes " The impact of television is legendary
and has totally changed the way American families live" . 
Modern telecommunications rely on modern technology and one of the most important
elements of that technology is the computer. Today's computer industry is moving with
great momentum. Most schools are equipped to teach computer skills, and it is no longer
rare for a student to come to first grade with a basic understanding of computers gained
from the family's personal computer .
In 1930 an American electrical scientist, Vannevar Bush, constructed the first analog
computer . However, the person credited with developing the first digital computer is
Howard Aiken of Harvard University, who completed his project in 1944 . Analog signals
are a constant flow of information, whereas digital signals are a series of short bursts
of information. Historian Mark Halls says, "most historians point to ENIAC (Electronic
Numerical Integrator And Computer) as the real beginning of computer technology" .
Engineers at the University of Pennsylvania built this giant computer in 1946. ENIAC
utilized vacuum tubes to control computer functions. The concept of storing programs in a
computers memory is credited to John van Neumann, an American mathematician. It was in
1951 that the developers of ENIAC constructed Univac I, which became the first computer
to be mass-produced . 
The traditional U.S. postal service is not oriented to meet needs for instant information
access, so many mailboxes have become electronic. Electronic messages can be sent any
hour of the day or night using a computer, a modem, and a telephone. These electronic
messages may be read, filed, stored, erased, printed, and rerouted. A computer used in
conjunction with the telephone line and a television set allows homeowners to view
merchandise, compare prices, and do electronic shopping. No longer are bank customers
dependent on bankers' hours to withdraw money or to obtain account information . 
Many school libraries have a new reference resource, an electronic encyclopedia.
Libraries connect to electronic encyclopedias with personal computers. Facts can be read

on the screen or sent to the printer. Through the use of telecommunications, the
opportunity to access vast amounts of information located in large commercial data bases
are beyond belief. Within a matter of seconds, a computer can access information and can
appear on its screen. Today, information services bring new learning opportunities and
data into the home through telecommunications ).
The information age has already arrived, and telecommunication technology has played an
important role in it. It has already had an impact on what have been considered
traditional methods of transmitting information over distances. This new technology has
also changed the methods by which information is manipulated and stored.
Telecommunications is changing the way people work, play, live and think.