Telecommunications is the science and technology of communication (the exchange of information) at a distance by electronic means. It includes the transmission of signals, by wire or wireless, for voice, data, image, and video applications. The term is often used in its plural form, telecommunications, because it encompasses a wide range of technologies.
The history of telecommunications is intimately linked with the history of electrical engineering. The word telecommunication was first used in 1837 by French engineer Claude Chappe when referring to his invention of the telegraph, which allowed for the first time instantaneous long-distance communication. However, it wasn’t until 1876 that Alexander Graham Bell successfully transmitted speech over a wire. This achievement ushered in a new era in human communications and spawned an entire industry devoted to perfecting ever more efficient ways to send and receive messages at a distance.
Over the ensuing years, numerous other key milestones were achieved: In 1879 Thomas Edison invented the light bulb; in 1880 James Maxwell proposed his theory of electromagnetic radiation; Guglielmo Marconi developed wireless telegraphy (radio); Alexander Popov built the first radio receiver; John Logie Baird demonstrated television; Percy Spencer invented radar; Philo Farnsworth developed television scanning methods; and on April 7, 1965 Gordon Moore predicted that transistor density on integrated circuits would double every two years (a forecast later known as Moore’s law).
Each successive advance has brought with it more sophisticated ways to share information quickly and easily over ever-greater distances. Today we take for granted our ability to pick up a telephone and talk with someone virtually anywhere in the world instantaneously or to surf the Internet and have access to an unimaginable wealth of information from all corners of the globe. We can thank telecommunications for making all this possible.