Briefly describe the historical development of world communications

History of the development of the world telecommunications industry

2004-11-7

From "King You of Zhou playing beacon fire games with princes" to "Bamboo Letter", from "drifting bottle" To the first telegraph in human history - "What a miracle God has created!", communication technology has developed rapidly with the help of modern technology for a hundred years. Now, let's go back and take a look at the scenery along the way.

A brief talk on the history of telecommunications at home and abroad

According to research, during the Shang and Zhou dynasties in ancient China, people knew how to use beacon fire to transmit messages over long distances. The most familiar one is "Smile for the Beauties, Zhou The story of King You playing with the princes with beacon fire. It is mentioned in the book "One Hundred Years of Telephone" published by the International Telecommunication Union that in 968 AD, the Chinese invented something called "Bamboo Letter", which is considered to be the prototype of today's telephone. Although these stories all reflect the ingenuity of our ancestors, if we want to understand the development history of modern telecommunications technology, we still have to start with Europe.

Origined in Europe

In 1793, the French Chape brothers set up a 230-kilometer-long bracket line between Paris and Lille to transmit information via relay. This is a communication system consisting of 16 signal towers. The signal operator uses ropes and pulleys to manipulate the different angles of the bracket to express relevant information. At that time, France and Austria were at war, and it took only an hour for the signaling system to reach Paris with news of the victory over Condé-sur-Ais from the Austrian army. Later, Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy, Germany and Russia also established such communication systems. One of the two Chape brothers is said to have been the first to use the word "telegraph."

European research on long-distance sound transmission began in the 17th century. The famous British physicist and chemist Robert Hooke first proposed the idea of ??transmitting voice over long distances. In 1796, Hughes proposed a method of transmitting voice messages via microphone relay, and called this communication method Telephone, which is still in use today.

In 1832, the American doctor Jackson explained the principles of electromagnets to passengers on a mail ship sailing in the Atlantic Ocean. Among the passengers, the 41-year-old American painter Morse was deeply attracted. At that time, the signal system in France could only communicate within a few miles of sight. Morse dreamed of using electric current to transmit electromagnetic signals and send messages thousands of miles away in an instant. From then on, Morse's life changed radically.

Morse was inspired by the fact that the current flowing in the wire will burst out sparks when the wire is suddenly cut off: if the current is cut off for a moment, the spark is used as a signal, and the current is turned on without sparking. As another signal, the longer the current is on also acts as a signal. The combination of these three signals can represent all letters and numbers, and the text can be transmitted to distant places through the current in the wire. In 1837, Morse finally designed the famous Morse code, which uses different combinations of "dots", "dashes" and "spaces" to represent letters, numbers, punctuation and symbols. On May 24, 1844, in the meeting hall of the Federal Supreme Court in the Capitol Building in Washington, Morse personally operated the telegraph machine. With a series of "dot" and "dash" signals being sent, the telegraph reached Baltimore 64 kilometers away. Received the world's first telegram consisting of "beep" and "dah" sounds.

Who invented the telephone?

At present, Bell is generally recognized as the inventor of the telephone. He applied for a telephone patent at the U.S. Patent Office on February 14, 1876. In fact, just two hours after he filed his application, a man named E.6.1 Gray also applied for a telephone patent.

Before the two of them, many people in Europe were already carrying out ideas and research in this area. As early as 1854, the principle of the telephone had been conceived by the Frenchman Boussard, and six years later the German Reiss repeated this idea. The principle is: two thin metal sheets are connected with wires. When one side makes a sound, the metal sheet vibrates, turns into electricity, and is transmitted to the other side. But this is just an idea. The problem is the structure of the transmitter and receiver. How can the mechanical energy of sound be converted into electrical energy and transmitted.

Initially, Bell used an electromagnetic switch to form an opening and closing pulse signal, but this method was obviously not feasible for such a high frequency of sound waves. The final success came from an accidental discovery. On June 2, 1875, during an experiment, he connected a metal piece to an electromagnetic switch. Unexpectedly, in this state, the sound magically turned into an electric current. According to the analysis principle, it turns out that the metal piece vibrates due to sound, which induces a current in the electromagnetic switch coil connected to it. It seems now that this principle is known to even a student who has studied junior high school physics, but at that time it was undoubtedly a very important discovery for Bell.

Gray's design principle is different from Bell's. It uses the resistance change of the liquid inside the microphone, while the receiver is exactly the same as Bell's. In 1877, Edison obtained a patent for the carbon microphone. At the same time, many people were making various improvements to the way the phone worked. The patent dispute was complicated and did not come to an end until 1892.

One reason for this situation was that the Western Union Telegraph Company, the largest in the United States at the time, bought the patent rights of Gray and Edison to compete with Bell's telephone company. The result of the long-running patent dispute was that the two parties reached an agreement. Western Union Telegraph Company fully recognized Bell's patent rights and would no longer be involved in the telephone industry. In exchange, it shared 20% of Bell Telephone Company's revenue within 17 years.

Technological Development

In the decades after the invention of the telephone, a large number of patents were applied for regarding telephone management, technology and other issues, and Strowger's "automatic dialing system" decreased Various problems caused by manual wiring, the application of dry batteries reduced the size of the phone, and the application of loaded coils reduced signal loss in long-distance transmission. In 1906, Lee De invented the electronic test tube, and its loudspeaker function led the direction of telephone service. Later, Bell Telephone Laboratories made an electronic triode based on this. This research was of great significance. On January 25, 1915, the first interborough telephone line opened between New York and San Francisco. It used 2,500 tons of copper wire, 130,000 poles and countless loaded coils, and three vacuum tube amplifiers along the way to strengthen the signal. On July 1, 1948, scientists at Bell Labs invented the transistor. This is not only of great significance to the development of telephones, but also has a huge impact on all aspects of human life. In the following decades, a large number of new technologies emerged, such as the production of integrated circuits and the application of optical fibers, which all played a very important role in the development of communication systems.

Telephone in China

After the Opium War, while Western powers plundered land and wealth in China, they also brought modern postal and telecommunications to China. In 1900, my country's first local telephone was launched in Nanjing; from 1904 to 1905, Russia set up radio stations from Yantai to Niuzhuang. China's ancient postal system and private communication institutions were gradually replaced by advanced postal services and telecommunications.

During the Republic of China, China’s postal and telecommunications communications were still under the control of Western powers. Coupled with years of war, communication facilities are often damaged. During the Anti-Japanese War, the Japanese imperialists transformed and expanded the telecommunications network system out of war needs and the purpose of long-term domination of China. They took advantage of China's economic and technological backwardness and the corruption of the political system at that time to improve technology, equipment, maintenance, and management. and other aspects to control China’s communications industry.

Before 1949, China's telecommunications system developed slowly. By 1949, China's telephone penetration rate was only 0.05%, and there were only 260,000 telephone users.

After 1949, the Central People's Government quickly restored and developed communications. The Beijing Telegraph Building built in 1958 became an important milestone in the history of communications development in New China. Ten years after the "Cultural Revolution", postal and telecommunications suffered another blow. They have been losing money and business development has stagnated. By 1978, the national telephone penetration rate was only 0.38%, less than 1/10 of the world level. China, which accounts for 1/5 of the world's population, has less than 1% of the world's total telephone sets. Every 200 people have a telephone set. Less than one, 75 years behind the United States! The proportion of switch automation is low. Most counties and rural areas still use "shake handles". Long-distance transmission mainly relies on open wires and analog microwaves. Even in Beijing, 20% of long-distance calls cannot be answered every day, and 15% cannot be answered until an hour later. Pass. People who made calls at the Telegraph Building had to wait in line with their lunch.

In 1978, the national telephone capacity was 3.59 million, the users were 2.14 million, and the penetration rate was 0.43%.

After the reform and opening up, backward communication networks have become a bottleneck for economic development. Since the mid-1980s, the Chinese government has accelerated the construction of basic telecommunications facilities. By March 2003, the number of fixed phone users reached 2,256.26 billion, and 2,214.91 billion mobile phone users.

How many people at home and abroad have worked hard to deliver information faster and better. In the more than 100 years of telecommunications development, people have tried various communication methods: the original telegraph used something like " "Digital" means of expression to transmit information; later, telephones that transmitted information with analog signals appeared; with the advancement of technology, digital methods have once again received attention for their obvious superiority, digital program-controlled switches, digital mobile phones, optical fiber digital transmission... …The wheel of history is still moving forward.

Century-old telephone

Since the invention of the telephone, there have been many changes from its working principle to its appearance design. Now please follow us to take a look at the development of the telephone over the past century. the way. These phones are collected by antique phone collectors from all over the world.

1878, Handheld Telephone

This telephone was manufactured in Germany in 1878 by Werner Siemens. Its earpiece and microphone are one, and they are used alternately when listening and speaking.

1879 Box Telephone

This telephone was equipped with a magnetic generator made of mahogany produced by the Viaduct Manufacturing Company and also had a columnar receiver.

1880, Bell Telephone

This was the first telephone used in Europe. It replaced the telegraph and was more advanced than the magnetic engine telephone, which had a handle.

Magnetic generator wall telephones, 1881 and 1882

The telephone on the left is called the American Bell type, manufactured in 1881 and used by the International Bell Telephone Company in Copenhagen. Manufactured by L.M. Ericsson. This phone was popular at the end of the last century.

1885, "Eiffel Tower" Magnetic Generator Telephone

This telephone was manufactured in 1885 by L. M. Ericsson. At the time it was the first phone to be placed on a desktop. The microphone is mounted on a rotating arm, and a crank is used to connect to the switch.

1885, 1902, Magnetic Generator Wall Telephone

Made by Ferdinand E. Stensen in Copenhagen in 1885, it was the earliest telephone made by a Dane. This one was made by the Emil Mdlers Telephone Company in Hosen.

1885, wooden frame desk telephone

The manufacturer and place of origin are unknown.

In 1892, the electric folding cabinet table phone

This type of phone was mostly used in homes, hotels and phone booths.

1892 "Eiffel Tower" telephone with handset

This is a true classic telephone, made in 1892 by L. M. Ericsson. This phone spread all over the world, with nearly a million units produced.

1893, "Coffee Pot" Telephone

There are only a few examples of this phone in Denmark, and it is the most attractive and valuable for collectors. 1899, Digital Mechanical Wall Telephone

This digital mechanical telephone comes in both wall and table versions.

1900, Upright Desk Telephone

This round-belly table telephone is made of nickel-plated bronze. There is a sturdy piece of bakelite underneath the hanging rod. It also has a peripheral earpiece to show off.

1900, Upright Tapered Desk Phone

This phone was nicknamed the "oil can" because of its shape.

1900, 20-line split telephone

This model is the so-called 20-line split telephone. For intercom use only, manufactured by L. M. Ericsson in Sweden.

1901, Magnetic Generator Desk Telephone

This model was manufactured in Copenhagen in 1901 by Ferdinand E. Stensens Telefonfabrik. Pay attention to its earpiece, hanging separately on a hook. Perhaps it was because the quality of telephone access at that time was not high and sometimes one had to listen with two ears.

1902, Kellogg Corner Desk Phone

This kind of corner desk phone was mostly used in homes, offices and phone booths. It was manufactured by the Hardwood Telephone Company of the United States. I bought it from a farmer in a small town in California.

1902, Public Battery Wall Telephone

This kind of telephone does not need to turn the handle, pick up the receiver and speak directly to the operator. It was purchased from an antique shop in San Francisco.

1904, Magnetic Generator First Line Telephone

This telephone was manufactured in 1904 by L.M. Ericssom. This phone allows four users to share one phone line. On February 17, 1753, the idea of ??using electric current for communication was first proposed in a magazine called "The Scotsman", and the article was signed C.M.

On August 15, 1784, a visual communication method called "distant communication" was used for the first time between Lille and Paris, France.

In 1796, the Englishman Hughes proposed a method of transmitting voice via microphone relay and named it Telephone, a name that has been used to this day.

In 1832, Russian diplomat Schilling built a telegraph machine that used the deflection of the galvanometer pointer to receive information.

In 1835, American Morse invented the telegraph machine that used electromagnetic principles for telegraph transmission.

In June 1837, the Englishman Cook obtained the first patent for the invention of the telegraph. The telegraph machine he made was first used on the railway.

From 1837 to 1838, Morse also invented the Morse code, which was used to "turn on" and "off" current to compile a code representing numbers and letters.

In 1843, Morse built a telegraph line from Washington to Baltimore, with a total length of 64.4 kilometers.

On May 24, 1844, Morse sent the first telegram in human history to Baltimore from the Capitol Building: "What a miracle God has created!".

On August 28, 1850, the first submarine cable was launched by the brothers John and Jacob 6.1 Brett at Cape Gris-Nez, France and the Leeseland Sea, England. The project was laid on the high seas between the two corners, but it was interrupted after only a few telegrams were sent. It turned out that a fisherman hooked up a section of cable with a trawl net, cut off a section and happily showed off this rare "seaweed" specimen to others, saying in amazement that it was filled with gold.

On March 10, 1876, the British Scotsman Bell invented the telephone. "Mr. Watson, come and help me" became the first voice sent by humans through the telephone. At that time, Bell spilled acid from the microphone onto his leg.

In 1879, a telegraph line was set up between Tianjin and Dagu Beitang Fort.

On February 21, 1882, the Dango-Dabei Telegraph Company established a telephone exchange on the Bund in Shanghai.

In 1895, the Russian Popov and the Italian Marconi invented the wireless telegraph respectively.

On May 18, 1897, Marconi successfully conducted radio communications across the Bristol Channel.

In 1900, the Shanghai-Nanjing Telegraph Bureau opened local telephones. At that time, there were only 16 telephones.

In 1901, Marconi achieved wireless communication across the Atlantic Ocean.

In 1903, the wireless telephone test was successful.

On November 8, 1907, the French inventor édouard 6?1 Bailan performed his development result-photo fax in the building of the French Photographic Association.

In 1919, Palm and Belander invented the "crossbar connector." Ten years later, the world's first large-scale cross-border telephone exchange was built in Sundsvall, Sweden.

In July 1920, China Post launched postal and telegraph services.

In 1937, the British man Reeves proposed a method of transmitting voice information using all combinations of pulses (pulse code modulation).

In October 1945, the British A?6?1C?6?1 Clark proposed the idea of ????stationary satellite communications.

In 1946, Eckert and Mauchly built the world's first electronic computer.

In 1947, Bell Labs in the United States proposed the concept of cellular communications, dividing the mobile phone service area into several cells, and setting up a base station in each cell to form a cellular mobile communication system.

In December 1950, the long-distance open-line international trunk line project in Northeast China was completed, and the cable carrier circuit from Beijing to Moscow was opened.

In July 1954, the U.S. Navy used the reflection of radio waves on the lunar surface to conduct a telephone transmission test between two places on the earth. In 1956, communications services were established between Washington and Hawaii.

In 1956, a telephone cable was laid on the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean between the United Kingdom and Canada, making long-distance continental telephone communications a reality.

On October 4, 1957, the former Soviet Union successfully launched the first artificial satellite "Sputnik 1".

In August 1958, the first domestic 12-carrier telephone equipment was successfully developed at the Shanghai Post and Telecommunications Equipment Factory.

In January 1960, China’s first set of 1,000 vertical and horizontal automatic telephone exchanges was put into use at the Shanghai Wusong Telephone Bureau.

In 1960, American physicist Maiman used powerful ordinary light to illuminate artificial gemstones and created a laser that was 10 million times stronger than sunlight.

In 1962, the United States successfully developed pulse code modulation equipment for multiplexed telephone communications.

In 1965, the first computer-controlled program-controlled telephone exchange came out in the United States, marking the beginning of a new era of telephones.

In 1966, the British-Chinese Kao Kun proposed the idea of ??using glass fiber for long-distance laser communication.

In 1969, the Beijing Long Distance Telecommunications Bureau successfully installed China's first fully automatic long-distance telephone equipment.

In 1969, the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) of the U.S. Department of Defense proposed a plan to develop the ARPA network. It was completed and put into operation in 1969, marking a new era in the development of computer communications.

In 1970, the world's first program-controlled digital switchboard was opened in Paris, France, which marked the full practicality of digital telephones and the arrival of a new era of digital communications.

In 1972, the Consultative Committee on International Telegraph and Telephone (CCITT) first proposed the concept of Integrated Services Digital Network-ISDN.

In 1974, the construction of the China-Japan submarine cable began. This was the first international submarine cable that China participated in the construction.

In 1975, the vertical and horizontal automatic telephone switching equipment developed and designed by China passed the national certification and began mass production.

In March 1976, China's first large-capacity transmission system, the 1800-channel coaxial cable carrier system, was completed and put into production in Beijing, Shanghai, and Hangzhou, with a total length of 1,700 kilometers.

In 1982, GSM was established in Europe with the task of formulating standards for pan-European mobile communication roaming.

In 1982, China's first batch of coin-operated public telephones appeared in bustling streets such as East and West Chang'an Street in Beijing, with 22 coin-operated public telephone booths.

In December 1982, the first 10,000-door program-controlled local telephone switching system introduced from Japan was put into use at the Fuzhou Telecommunications Bureau, establishing China's first introduced program-controlled telephone bureau.

In 1983, the AMPS cellular system was opened in Chicago, USA.

1904, “Spider” civilian band telephone

L. M. Ericsson’s first civilian band telephone. Chicago's Tree Desk Telephone, 1905

This desk telephone was known as the "Potty" because of the bulge in the middle of the handle.

1905, Porch Intercom

This is a Connecticut Telecommunications Company 32-door porch intercom.

In 1905, the 11-digit dialing desk telephone

It used an 11-digit dialing method.

In 1907, the "German model" radio band telephone

Made in Germany in 1907 by E.Zwuetysch & Co. The emergence of this telephone can solve the problem of long call waiting time to a certain extent. problem.

1907, Magnetic Generator Telephone

This telephone was manufactured in 1907 by L.M. Ericsson. Note: When answering a call, hang the handset on a separate hook. This was the unified standard for phone manufacturers at the time.

1908, CH-08 loudspeaker telephone

Introduced by KTAS.

1910, Interphone

This was an upright tabletop interphone produced by the S.H. Couch Company for inter-office communication.

In 1912, the office arrangement machine

This telephone can have 17 extensions at the same time through the main unit. Each extension can make calls, and the extensions can also connect to each other. Pass.

1912, CH-08 wall phone

This phone was produced in 1912 by the Danes in Copenhagen. It can automatically send and receive telegraphs.

1912, Magnetic Generator Telephone

A telegraph and fax telephone manufactured by L.M. Ericsson, often used in remote areas or small islands.

1914, Magnavox anti-noise desk phone

The unique design of this phone is that when you speak into the microphone, the sound passes through the small hole in the top of the phone, causing the vibrating plate in the phone to vibrate . Noise is canceled when it enters the microphone. Its dual rotating earpieces help block unwanted noise.

In 1914, the Magnavox Anti-Noise Desk Telephone Model B1

also had the function of canceling noise.

1914, Magnetic Generator Telephone

Manufactured in Horwens in 1914, it can be used for telegraph and fax.

1915, Veau desk telephone

Unknown information.

In 1915, a home-made wall telephone was found on an abandoned farm in East Oregon. There are nearly 20 abandoned farms in the area with traces of telephones hanging on their walls.

Magnetic Generator Wall Telephone, 1920

This telephone, manufactured in 1904 and updated in 1920, featured a rotating red button that switched between answering and listening.

1927, D-08 semi-automatic telephone

The first dial-up telephone, its appearance will replace the manual calling system of the switchboard. The dialing device was installed in 1927 and it was first used in 1978.

1927, AC-powered ringing telephone

Made by Kristian Kirks Telefonfabrikker in Horsens, Denmark, it was still in use in the 1970s.

1929, automatic wall telephone

Unknown information.

In 1930, D-30 semi-automatic gold-plated telephone

This telephone was manufactured by a Danish company in 1930. Its special feature is that the surface is gold-plated. At that time, most telephones were dark. And this phone has a dialing facility.

1930, FL-30 automatic telephone

Made in Denmark in the 1930s, it used alphabetic dialing. This type of phone is about 48 years old.

1935, automatic telephone

This telephone was used to communicate with telecommunications exchanges in remote areas. Its design was influenced by the American telephone industry in the 1930s.

1943, CB-43 telephone

This telephone was manufactured in Denmark by Kristian Kirks Telefonfabrikker. It was designed with two ringing tones to distinguish calls from inside and outside the city.

1951, F-51 Autodialing Telephone

This telephone was built by Kristian Kirks Telefonfabrikker after World War II.

In 1952, the F-52 automatic dialing telephone

was manufactured in 1952. Unlike the black bakelite material of the past, it was made of ivory and later plastic materials. .

In 1956, the "Ericofon" automatic dialing phone

This phone was designed and manufactured by Swedish L.M. Ericsson and named Ericofon. It is made of new materials and is much lighter than traditional phone receivers.

1968, F-68 automatic dialing telephone

This telephone was the most common telephone in the 1970s. It was originally designed in the 1960s and was widely manufactured in Denmark. .

In 1970, the F-68 push-button dialing telephone

The first push-button telephone used in Denmark, this telephone used numeric buttons instead of the original dialing method.

1976, Model 76E/DK80 push-button dial telephone

Originally manufactured in 1972 by Jutland Telephone Company.

In 1979, the F-79 push-button dialing charge telephone

This telephone is between ordinary telephones and public telephones. It is mainly used in service places, hotels and other similar places. , can prevent theft and make phone calls. In 1980, the DA-80 push-button dial telephone

The design of this telephone marked the true entry of electronic theory into the telephone industry.

In 1982, the portable telegraph phone

This phone was manufactured by Ericsson Wireless Systems. At that time, it could only be used in countries such as Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. Later, the GSM mobile phone system opened up a new world.

1983, DanMark 2 button phone

DanMark2 was manufactured in 1983 and was the embodiment of the most advanced technology of the 1980s. It has many functions, such as phone number memory function, redial function, monitoring function, and 24 kinds of ringtones.