10 interesting facts to celebrate World Telecommunications Day
Can you imagine your life without calling your loved ones and colleagues or sending important emails to customers, business partners, and friends? Did you ever think about how important is communication in your daily activities? It is an integral part of your life. Yet, to communicate freely and seamlessly you need tools and solutions – you need telecommunications.
It is not a surprise then that we have a special day – 17th May – to celebrate the Telecommunications and Information Society. Its purpose is to highlight the key role of communication and information technologies (ICT) in our lives and our societies’ development.
World Telecommunication day marks the constant evolution of communication technology but also increases the awareness of digital inequalities among countries. It focuses on the possibilities that technology brings into our daily life – and more specifically on the benefits of the Internet and ICT. This special day reminds us that we have to keep bridging the digital divide and accelerate digital transformation.
Some interesting facts about Telecommunications
1. World Telecommunications Day was celebrated for the first time in 1965 to commemorate the founding of the International Telecommunication Union. An organization that is a successor of the International Telegraph Union (founded in 1865). The latter was actively involved in all the great breakthroughs in communications including:
• the invention of the telephone in 1876
• the launch of the first satellite in 1957
• the birth of the Internet in the 60s
2. The first text message, later known as a short message service or SMS, was sent in 1992 by Neil Papworth. It simply said “Merry Christmas”.
3. The first Voice Over Internet (VoIP) was made in 1974, when Lincoln Lab and Culler Harrison, Inc successfully transmitted voice data packets to one another. Two years later they conducted the first conference call (1976).
4. People use most often their mobile phones for checking the time.
5. The Nokia beeping tone that announced you got an SMS on your mobile phone is a Morse Code for short text messages.
6. The telephone invention is the most profitable and popular technical innovation in United States history. Keep in mind how vast its territory is and the phone introduction has been a key factor in simplifying communication across the country.
7. International calls are rarely transmitted via satellite nowadays. Instead, most are sent over fiber optics and VoIP, which leads to a significant improvement in the network and sound quality.
8. Back in the day, telephone wires were chosen based on how tasty mice found them. The less tasty the wire, the greater the chance to be used as the possible damage by mice seemed lower.
9. It took almost a whole year to connect the first phone line between New York and San Francisco. Over 25000 km of copper wires were used as well as 140 000 telephone poles.
10. Тhe first “smartphone” is considered to be IBM SIMON, released in 1993. It had a calendar, fax, touchscreen, and other modern communication features.
We have come a long way in the telecommunications field since the first call was made in 1876. The way ICT and telecommunications have shaped our lives goes beyond the people’s imagination, whose inventions started the whole technical revolution.
Yet, the work is not over when it comes to digital transformation and the role telecommunications play. In the challenging times we live in, it is obvious that global access to telecommunications has to be improved. It is our responsibility to reduce technological inequality between nations and thus support sustainable economic growth and social development.
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