There is no doubt that the telephone is one of the main tools that allowed Humanity to forge the modern world as we know it.The telephone is the architect of large corporations and the device by which companies around the globe quickly expanded doing business in an agile manner regardless of the distance that separated them from their customers and suppliers.
At present, despite the century and a half that has passed since its invention,the phone has changed little and nothing,saving aesthetics and options, its operation remains practically the same, that is, we dial a number, and the person to the one that corresponds answers.In this post, we will findeverything about the phone, including its history and evolutionto this day.
Today we will talk about thehistory of the telephone and its evolution.
The Invention of the Telephone
Antonio Meucci was an Italian inventorexpert in the area of electrodynamics.In 1854,Meucci created his greatest creation, the telethon, later called the telephone.This instrument was able to send acoustic signals at a great distance.The main reason for creating this instrument was Meucci’s wife, who suffered from rheumatism, and could not move.Meucci created the invention to communicate his office, located on the ground floor, with his bedroom, located on the second floor.
But Meuccidid not patent his inventionfor two reasons.The first was that the Italian inventor did not have much money to pay for the patent, and was not sure of the benefits that the phone could give him.The second reason was that Meucci preferred to patent other inventions that he thought were more economically beneficial, passing the phone to the background, some of these inventions included a filter for water purification or a new way of making candles.
6 years later, in 1860, Meuccipresented his invention to the public, calling it the telephone,which was still not patented.Unfortunately, no one gave a good offer to Meucci for the invention.
Graham Bell and the invention of the telephone
In 1876, a British inventor namedAlexander Graham Bell registered the telephone patent.Meucci did not take long to find out and asked his lawyer to complain to the Patent Office since the Italian inventor had already patented his invention even if it were annual. A little later Meucci discovered, thanks to a friend who worked in Washington, that all the documentation referring to the Meucci patent had been lost. There was no evidence thatthe phone’s patent was given to Meucci before Graham Bell registered it.
The following years became hell for Meucci.Bell’s company was very powerful, and it was discovered that he had bribed both the Patent Office and Meucci’s own lawyer.As destiny would have it, Bell’s power did not reach the courts, andthe judge knew that the true author of the invention was without a doubt, Meucci. It all ended with the death of Meucci in 1889, who died without seeing his great talent recognized.
It’s a common fact to describe Graham Bell as the inventor of the telephone, but in recent years the trend is changing, giving that recognition to Meucci.A clear example was that in 2002,where the Official Gazette of the House of Representatives of the United States recognized Meuccias the true inventor of the telephone.
The Evolution of the Phone
To continue with this lesson on the history of the telephone and its evolution, we must talk about thedifferent phases through which the telephone has passedand evolved.Some of these phases include:
- Thelandline, that is, the one based on the communication of lines between non-portable telephones, which are connected thanks to a central system.
- Creation of atelephone exchangethat allowed interconnections.This was the first network, which was done thanks to the intervention of an operator manually.
- Telephone exchanges that allow interconnection, but automatically instead of manual.
- Automaticdigitalswitching stations that work by controlling a computer.
- New mediums increased the speed of data exchange, such asISDN or broadband.
- The creation ofmobile phones, which allows the exchange of voice and data wirelessly.
The Evolution of Landlines
Landline phones were widely used for business as early as 1938 which soon expanded to landlines being a critical part of households. Initially this luxury belonged to only the well to dos. Later it became an integral part of every home. The rotating dial phones were the most used phone sets in the west. With the vintage look they give the impression of both classic and fashionable. Many models have been released and faded but the rotary phone left the strongest impression. The same core design is still being used with its marriage to digitalized and cordless phones giving phones the classic design with contemporary features.
Corded Phones
Corded phones have been used widely and even with the invention of mobile phones, corded phones continue to be used throughout the world. The official phone numbers are usually operated through a corded phone as they are desk bound and suitable. An advantage of corded phones over mobile phones is that they do not require electricity as they are mostly operated through the telecommunications companies. They will continue to work perfectly despite an extended power outage. A mobile phone can simply give a general idea of the location in the case of an emergency situation, while a corded phone can pinpoint the exact location.
PBX Phones
Offices and companies still rely on Private Branch Exchange (PBX) phones which are the most widely used tool in intra office communication. It is also called the Business Telephone System as the enterprise uses it for calls between the employees of the company. Considering the crucially private information being shared among the organization, these types of phones are the preferred choice of almost all the offices and companies of the outside world.
The World’s First Cell Phone
The idea of manufacturing a cell phone is not as new as people think since, in 1947 the engineer DH Ring had already proposed some sketches to Bell Laboratories.However, they lacked thenecessarytechnologyto develop them.
In the 1960s, all major telecommunications companies handled the same concept and competed to be the first to make it effective.Finally,the first company to design a cell phone was Bell Laboratories, whose patent was approved in 1972.
However,the first cell phone prototype was demonstrated in 1973 by Motorola.The phone was a DynaTAC 8000X model, and the call was made precisely to its largest competitor in the area, Joel Engel, of AT&T Bell Laboratories.
The DynaTAC 8000X entered the market in 1984.It weighed about 1 kilogram and measured 33 x 4.4 x 8.9 centimeters.Its battery allowed just one hour of communication or an eight-hour wait on the network.
The First Generation or 1G
In the 1980s, Ameritech Mobile Communications, LLC, the first company to provide cell phone services, appeared on the scene.The idea was to use analog radio channels (frequencies around 450 MHz) with modulated frequency (FM).Some of the first phones of this type were from the Ericsson company, NMT 450 brand.
This generation of cell phones is considered to have the most significant impact in areas of communication and technology. In 1986 Ericsson modernized its equipment, launching the NMT 900, and companies such as AMPS (Advanced Mobile Phone System) and TACS (Total Access Communication System) started operating in the United States and other first-world countries.
Second Generation or 2G
The massification of the mobile phone began in the 1990s.
The second generation of cell phones was born in the 1990s.It used GSM systems (Global System for Mobile Communications, a European standard) and frequencies between 900 and 1800 MHz, whichrepresented the step towards the digitalizationof cellular communications.This was a huge step since people were now able to witness Improved voice quality and security levels firsthand.
On the other hand, terminal manufacturing became more straightforward and cheaper.Different models of line management were used, many like Multiple Time Division Access (TDMA) and Multiple Code Division Access (CDMA), which allowed the migration from analog to digital without having to make substantial investments instead (wiring, towers, antennas, etc.)
This new technology also allowed roaming and the commercialization of units at much more competitive prices.
Generation 2.5
In a short time, EMS and MMS technologies were incorporated into the second generation of cellphones thus allowing text messaging and multimedia messaging on existing cell phones. In many cases, the functionality was limited to receiving them, but units capable of issuing them too soon appeared.
Since this type of new technologies required higher transmission speeds,the networks were updated to GPRS(General Packet Radio Service), which allowed speeds of up to 120 kb / s, and EDGE (Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution), which It carried up to 384 kb / s.
Third Generation or 3G
The first smartphones already worked like small computers.
At the beginning of the 21st century, the third generation responded to the need for cell phones with Internet connectivity, video conferences, television, and file downloads, that is, small computers.
The firstSmartphonesor smartphones belong to this generation and are responsible for their popularization.For this, a new system was implemented: UTSM (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) with CDMA technology, capable of reaching transmission speeds of 7.2 Mb / s in optimal conditions.
Fourth-Generation or 4G
This is the generation of “High-end” Smartphones or higher capacities, thanks to itsInternet connection at high speeds (bandwidth) and reception of High Definition (HD) videos.It is the technology currently used in advanced companies and is considered to be the technological evolution of mobile telephony.
5th Generation or 5G
The fifth generation of cell phones is currently in development (2019).Powerful companies like the Chinese Huawei and the Russian Megafon have been testing since 2014 to manufacture a new technological generation.
As revealed by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) in 2017, it is estimated that it will reach speeds of up to 20 Gb / s of discharge and 10 GB/s of load, optimizing technology with new standards that are aspired to be available by 2020.
The Smartphones Revolution
The variety of its functions requires the use of large screens.
Smartphones were the biggest change in the history of cell phones.On the one hand, the functionality changed, incorporating many aspects of computers.On the other hand, the design changed: the phones promised to be smaller and more discreet every time, but the arrival ofSmartphonesintroduced the need for large screens.
Faced with the need to display information on the screens,the keyboards were suppressed, which were replaced by tactile instructions within the screen, known as thetouch-screentechnology.
In its order, the best-selling cell phones in history are the Nokia 1100, with 250 million;the iPhone 6, with 220 million;the Nokia 3210 with 112 million;the Motorola V3 with 130 million;and the Samsung SIII with about 130 million too.
Cell Phone Timeline
- 1973– Thefirst cell phonein history, the DynaTAC, is created.
- 1982– Marketing of1Gcell phones begins.
- 1990– The commercialization of2Gcell phones begins, and they become massive.
- 1992– Thefirst SMSin historyis sent.
- 1996– Motorola announces its first mobile phone, theStarTAC.
- 1997– The firstcell phone with an integratedcamerais announced.
- 1999– The first cell phone withmp3 capacity, the Samsung sph-m100, appears.
- 2001– Marketing of3Gphones begins.
- 2001– The first cell phone withBluetoothcapability, the Sony Ericsson T68, appears.
- 2005– The first cell phone withWi-Ficapability, the Nokia n91, appears.
- 2008– The firstApplecell phone, theiPhone, opens the world of Smartphones.
- 2008– The first cell phone withLinux(Android)operating system is marketed.
- 2009– Theboom insmartphoneapplicationsoccurs.
- 2010– Marketing of4Gcell phones begins.
- 2011– The first cell phone withDual Core, of the LG brand,is marketed.
- 2014– The development of future5Gtechnology is announced.
- 2017– The first Smartphone with a frontcamera (dual camera), Alcatel brandis marketed.
The Future is Infinite
If these are the smartphones of today, what can we expect from the phones of the future?
There is information that the smartphones may be equipped with mind control –not even the touch of the fingertip would be needed to control anything and everything on and from the mobile. Another feature which has already started to be incorporated is the flexibility. Mobile phones are being made stretchable and foldable so they can fit in like a paper. With this addition, there are models constantly being tested to make them unbreakable and scratch-less.Water, fire and pressure resistance are some of the many qualities the phones of the future will possess.
Everything that a person may need is in their palms – now it is up to them if they know how to use it best.
