The history of telephony is interesting both in terms of the invention of various devices, and in terms of the stages of deployment of various types of communication networks around the world. In some aspects, the dynamics of the spread of relevant technologies seems revolutionary, while in others it is characterized by progressive uniform development. What are the most notable facts about the global telephone industry?
Who invented the telephone?
Traditionally, the history of the telephone is associated with the name of Alexander Bell, an American inventor of Scottish origin. Indeed, the famous researcher took a direct part in the development of a revolutionary apparatus for transmitting sounds at a distance. However, there are facts that other designers also played an important role in the creation of the phone. So, for example, Johann Philipp Reis, a famous German inventor, at a meeting of scientists of the Physical Society, held in 1861, reported on the prototype of an electrical device he had created for transmitting sound at a distance. There was also the name of the invention - "telephone", familiar to us today. Reis's contemporaries, however, received the device without due enthusiasm. But thisthe most important fact that the history of the creation of the phone has.
After 15 years, two American researchers, Elisha Gray and Alexander Bell, acting independently, discovered the effect of telephoning. Both scientists, interestingly, on the same day, namely February 14, 1876, filed an application for patenting their discovery. At the same time, they have not yet developed an operating apparatus that would involve telephony. Presumably, Bell was about 2 hours ahead of Gray in filing an application, and many historians attribute the fact that the history of the creation of the telephone is today associated with the name of an American inventor.
The appearance of the first telephone
Alexander Bell lived in Boston and worked with people with hearing and speech problems. In 1873 he became professor of physiology at Boston University. By the nature of his work, he was probably an expert in acoustics and had excellent hearing.
The history of the first telephone, created by Alexander Bell, is thus connected with his work. Among the remarkable facts related to the invention of the device is the very effect of telephoning, discovered by the researcher with the direct assistance of his assistant. So, a specialist working with Bell once pulled out a plate from the transmitting device, which, as it seemed to Bell, made some rattling. As the researcher later found out, this was due to the fact that the element periodically closed electrical contacts.
Based on the revealed effect AlexanderBell created the telephone. It was arranged very simply: like a membrane made of leather, equipped with a signal element to increase the sound volume. The device could only transmit the sound of a voice, but this, apparently, was enough to patent the device - Bell received the corresponding document fixing the authorship of the invention on March 10, 1876.
The history of phones is also interesting in terms of their commercial exploitation. A few days later, the inventor finalized the telephone so that he could transmit clearly audible individual words. Alexander Bell later showed his device to the business community. The device made an incredible impression on business people. The American inventor soon registered his company, which subsequently became prosperous.
First phone lines
The history of the telephone is now known to us. But how did Bell's invention take root in everyday life? In 1877, also in Boston, the first telephone line was launched, and in 1878, in New Haven, a telephone exchange. In the same year, another famous American inventor, Thomas Edison, created a new model of an apparatus for transmitting voice over a distance. In its design, there was an induction coil, which significantly improved the quality of communication, as well as increased the distance of sound transmission.
Contribution of inventors from Russia
The history of telephone development is also connected with the names of Russian designers. In 1885 Pavel MikhailovichGolubitsky, an inventor from Russia, developed a fundamentally new scheme for the operation of a telephone exchange, in which power was supplied to the devices from the outside - from a central source. Prior to this, each phone worked from its own electrical outlet. This concept made it possible to create stations that simultaneously serve a huge number of subscribers - tens of thousands. In 1895, the Russian inventor Mikhail Filippovich Freidenberg proposed to the world the concept of automatic telephone exchange, which involves the automatic connection of one subscriber to another. The first operating PBX was implemented in the USA, in the city of Augusta.
Development of communication lines in Russia
The history of the appearance of the telephone in Russia is connected with the construction of a line for the transmission of communications between St. Petersburg and Malaya Vishera. The first conversation between Russian subscribers through this channel took place in 1879, that is, only 3 years after the invention of the telephone. Later, one of the first civil communication lines connected the Georgievskaya pier, located in Nizhny Novgorod, and apartments that belonged to the management of the Druzhina shipping company. The length of the line was about 1547 m.
On a regular basis, city telephone exchanges - in St. Petersburg, Moscow, and also in Odessa - began to function since 1882. In 1898, an intercity line appeared, connecting Moscow and St. Petersburg. The history of telephones in Russia is interesting because the station that served the communication channel between Moscow and St. Petersburg exists and is still operating. It is located on Myasnitskaya Street in the Russian capital.
The rate of development of telephonization inThe Russian Empire were very decent - for example, by 1916, there were an average of 3.7 telephones per 100 inhabitants of Moscow. In 1935, already under the USSR, all Belokamennaya metro stations were equipped with telephones. Since 1953, all houses put into operation in the capital of the USSR had to have a telephone cable connected.
The history of phones is fascinating. It is always interesting to study its details. Having learned how wired phones appeared, let's look at the most remarkable facts regarding the development of mobile devices, which today are no less in demand than traditional ones.
How mobile phones were born
The first recorded telephone conversation over a radio channel, which according to a number of key characteristics corresponds to the principles of organizing modern cellular communications, was held in 1950 in Sweden. The inventor Sture Laugen, who was driving the Televerket company, successfully phoned the exact time service using the appropriate type of device. By that time, Sture Lauren had worked for several years at Televerket, developing this device. The history of the creation of a mobile phone is also associated with the name of Ragnar Berglund, Lauren's colleague.
Target - mass market
By the time Lauren made the call, which we mentioned above, telephone radio communication as such was already in use, but it was available only to special services and military structures. Televerket has set a goal - to create a device available to every citizen.
To the mass marketSwedish development was launched in 1956. At first she worked only in two cities - Stockholm and Gothenburg. During 1956, only 26 subscribers connected to it, which was not surprising due to the high cost of a “mobile phone”, the cost of which was comparable to the price of a car.
Development of mobile communications
The history of the development of mobile phones in a number of ways is inferior to the dynamics of the spread of telephone communications. If, for example, already after 3 years, devices created according to the principles of Alexander Bell were actively used in Russia, then for quite a long time mobile phones were not in mass demand.
It was only in 1969 that the world leaders in the telecommunications market began to think that it would be nice to somehow unify the corresponding communication systems. So, for example, it was assumed that each subscriber - like the owners of landline phones - would have his own number, and it would be relevant not only in the country where it was issued, but also abroad. Thus, we can note that the history of the mobile phone, in fact, from the very beginning reflects the interest of the engineering communities in the implementation of roaming concepts.
Among the first inventors who proposed the practical implementation of the technology, for which the relevant requests were formed, was Esten Myakitolo, a graduate of the Stockholm Technical School. The history of the creation of a mobile phone in its usual form is directly related to its name. However, for practical implementationMyakitolo's concept required very powerful technology. They appeared only in the early 80s.
First cellular network
The history of cell phones includes a remarkable fact: Saudi Arabia was the first country in which a cellular network was deployed. It was there that Ericsson, which was actively involved in the practical implementation of the concepts proposed by Myakitolo, in 1981 signed a contract for the supply of relevant services. The network launched in Saudi Arabia was characterized by the main criterion - mass character. Gradually, cellular communication standards improved, networks began to function in other countries of the world.
Development of common standards
As the mobile communications market grew, there was a need to develop uniform standards for the provision of relevant services. The NMT concept became popular in Saudi Arabia, the Scandinavian countries, the Benelux, the C-Netz system was used in Germany, their concepts were implemented in the UK, France, Italy.
The advent of GSM
To integrate the European mobile space, the GSM standard was created. It can be said that it absorbed all the best from other "national" concepts, and therefore, albeit not without difficulties, it was adopted by the European technological community in 1986. But the first GSM network was introduced only in 1990 in Finland. Subsequently, this standard became the main one for Russian mobile communication providers.
The history of phones - both conventional and cellular - is incrediblefascinating. But no less interesting is how the relevant technologies are developing. Let's study how cellular lines have been improved.
Development of the mobile communications market
In the first years after the introduction of GSM standards into consumer practice, the use of the corresponding services was very expensive. But gradually, the devices needed to work with mobile networks fell in price and became truly massive. Phones improved, decreased in size. In 1996, Nokia introduced, in fact, one of the first smartphones - a device with which you could send mail, fax, use the Internet. In the same year, the legendary StarTac book from Motorola appeared.
Smartphones and mobile internet
In 1997, Philips released the Spark phone with a very long battery life of about 350 hours. In 1998, the Sharp PMC-1 Smartphone mobile device appeared, which has a touch screen. It was expected that he would be a direct competitor to the above-mentioned gadget from Nokia. In 1999, cellular operators began to introduce WAP technology, which made it easier for subscribers to access mobile Internet. In 2000, the GPRS standard appeared, as well as UMTS - one of the main ones used in the architecture of 3G networks.
In 2009, the Swedish company TeliaSonera launched the world's first 4G network. Now it is considered the most modern and is being actively implemented by operators around the world.
Perspective phones
Howwill be the next step in the development of the cellular industry? The history of the mobile phone shows that effective revolutionary solutions can appear at any moment. It may seem that the 4G standard is the limit of modern technology. It would seem that data transfer at a speed of tens of megabits, excellent communication quality - what could be one level higher?
However, the world's leading research laboratories continue to work actively in the field of improving mobile technologies. Perhaps, in the near future, in the hands of any subscriber who wishes, there will appear a device as sensational for a modern layman as Bell's telephone was in the 70s of the 19th century, or a device that called Sture Lauren from a car to a landline number. And after a while, people will stop being surprised by him. This incredible tech industry is so dynamic.
