The History of Telecommunications in Business

Telecommunications have revolutionized the world. The history of telecommunications in business is one of the great stories of technological progress ever accomplished. It is now possible for the average person on any part of the globe to instantly communicate with any other person at any other part of the globe. This simple fact has changed everything. The world is now very much a global society with a unified culture and constant interaction between it's people.

Telegraph

The invention of the telegraph in 1844 was in many ways the beginning of the telecommunications revolution in the world. Using electric wires, it became possible to send messages across wide spaces almost instantly. The major telegraph company, Western Union, was formed soon after the device's invention in 1856 and soon came to dominate the industry. The construction of the trans-Atlantic cable in 1867 linked Europe and the United States for the first time in instant communication.

Telephone

Alexander Graham Bell created the first telephone in 1876. He soon after created the Bell telephone company in 1877. This company would dominate the telephone business without any real competition until it was forcefully broken up by the U.S. federal government in the 1980s. The telephone allowed for the coordination of business affairs across large distances, helping to revolutionize the way that business was done in many different industries. The telephone greatly advanced globalization.

Satellites

The creation and widespread use of communication satellites is perhaps the most important impact yet of the exploration into space. Communication satellites were first used by telephone companies to enable long-distance calls across the world. The ability to instantly communicate by voice across the world was a remarkable achievement. Satellite television enabled the first truly global media. Many other uses, such as GPS positioning systems, followed with major practical uses for businesses and individuals.

Internet

The establishment of the world-wide Internet in the 1990s had a major economic impact across the world. Entire new industries and ways of making a business profit emerged. The effects of this revolution in telecommunications is still ongoing. The coordination of business done across international boundaries was further improved as the collaboration is now possible of workers on completely different continents. The process of globalization dramatically advanced as even small businesses now routinely operate globally.

References

• Nemko; Bill's 200-Year Condensed History of Telecommunications; William von Alven; May 1998
• NASA; Communications Satellites: Making the Global Village Possible; David J. Whalen
• CNN Money; The Story of Ma Bell; July 2001
• "The Washington Post"; MCI had Central Role in Telecom History; February 2005
• "The Guardian"; Developing Countries Drive Explosion in Global Mobile Phone Use; Chris Tryhorn; March 2009
• Ars Technica; The Lost Souls of Telecommunications History; Matthew Lasar

Resources

• Telecommunications Industry Association
• Bureau of Labor Statistics: Telecommunications
• Indiana University: Department of Telecommunications