What led to the history of the telephone all started as a simple idea of wanting to transmit sound via wire. From the first experiment to a series of continuous technological advancements, astonishing breakthroughs and relentless innovation, the advent of the telephone would eventually revolutionize human communication.
Before the telephone came into existence, real-time communication was only possible with telegraphs which at that time were not so fast and reliable. People needed something different and so the idea of voice signals began to flow in the minds of brilliant folks until it finally became a reality.
Learning about the history of the telephone will take you through its early creation, the setting up of the first network, notable technological achievements and of course the digital revolution that paved way for the development of the modern telecommunications system we are enjoying today.
Early Innovations and Inventions
An intelligent British scientist named Robert Hooke is said to be the pace-setter in history of the telephone. He conducted a fascinating experiment in the mid-17th century. Hooke had two cups at both end with wire stretched between; he was imagining how possible it is to have sound travel over a single wire. Although this idea was more of a demonstration, it planted in the minds of many, a revolutionary idea.
A French inventor named Charles Bourseul was among the first persons that began theorizing Hooke’s idea. Bourseul alongside others began thinking about the concept of using electrical signals to transmit voice. It still remained only an idea and therefore lacked practical implementation.
This idea was eventually demonstrated in 1854 when an Italian Inventor named Antonio Meucci who recently relocated to America having lived there for about four years developed an early version of the telephone and decided to call it “telettrofone”. Meucci’s invention allowed for the transmission of sound, but unfortunately, was unable to secure a patent for it due to financial constraints. As a result, he didn’t get the recognition he deserved.
The Breakthrough
Moving on to 1876, the scene was set for a new Invention. Alexander Graham Bell who was born in Edinburgh in 1847, having received his formal education in the University of Edinburgh and London migrated to Canada and later America to teach people with defective speech.
He had keen interest for sounds, which led him to dive deeper into researching and developing a new technology that made it possible for recognizable words to be transmitted via wires in his Boston workshop. Bell made a historic call to his assistant, Thomas Watson on March 10, 1876, which goes thus, “Mr Watson, come here, I want to see you”.
This was a significant day in the history of the telephone. Bell couldn’t be more than happy knowing very well that he wasn’t the only one who wanted to make this happen. A year after, The Bell Telephone company was founded by him and his associates in 1877. But there remains still one problem, the Bell telephone was not perfectly working.
That same year the company started, Thomas Edison succeeded in building an improved electric microphone transmitter that was based upon the properties of carbon. It complemented Bell receiver perfectly, significantly improving the clarity and rate of voice transmission via the telephone. This notable improvement was integrated into Bells system, making the telephone more usable and adaptable.
How does the Early Telephone work?
The foundation on which the telephone system was built works by converting sound into electrical signals which are transmitted through wires, and then converted back to sound. Here is a breakdown of the entire process:
To Begin, the telephone system is made up of 3 main components: transmitter, receiver, wire and battery. Let me explain each one of them.
Transmitter:
In the transmitter, you will find the following:
- Diaphragm: This is a tin flexible sheet that vibrates when it feels pressure coming from sound waves.
- Coil: A wire placed near a permanent magnet. It works when the diaphragm’s vibrates, causing the coil to move within the magnetic field(an invisible area around a magnet or an electric current where magnetic forces can be felt) there by generating electrical signals.
- Magnet: A permanent magnet that creates a magnetic field around the coil which is super important for converting mechanical vibrations to electrical signals.
- Electrical Contacts: This is simply a connection that allows the electrical signals generated to travel through the circuit to the receiver.
Receiver:
Bell’s receiver at that time had practically the same component as the transmitter although, it looked different.
Wires:
This connects the transmitter and receiver to allow electrical signals to travel between them.
Battery:
This provides the electrical power required to run the system.
The Telephone in action
When an individual speaks through the telephone, his or her voice is said to cause a diaphragm (a thin flexible sheet that vibrates when it feels pressure) in the transmitter to vibrate. These vibrations coming in the form of sound waves are then converted into electrical signals via a magnetic field.
Next is the signal transmission which happens when the electrical signals gets transmitted through the copper wires to the receiving end. When the electric signals travels and eventually gets to the receiving end, it causes another diaphragm to vibrate to the original sound waves that is coming from the sender which then recreates to produce sounds that the receiver can hear.
Building the Network
After improving clarity for voice transmission and confirm that everything was good, the next line of action was to set it up for commercial use. So the 1870s saw the development of the first commercial telephone exchange in New Haven, Connecticut, in 1878.
The telephone exchange made it possible for more telephones to connect through a central switchboard, this allowed communication to happen across distances. This was followed by a rapid expansion and increase in subscribers in the 1880s.
Up until 1891, manual switchboards were the norm until Almon Strowger developed the automatic telephone exchange system and introduced it into the commercial scene, making another mark in the history of the telephone. His innovation was widely accepted because it reduced the dependency on the manual switchboards operators.
Technological Advances
As expected, the design of the telephone had advanced from what was initially developed into something better. Design improvements continued until we got to the 1920s when another progress was made in the history of the telephone.
What progress are we referring to? Rotary dial telephones were launched as the newest tech to allow users to dial phone numbers themselves to make direct calls without having to contact an operator for assistance anymore.
The 1930s and 1940s then witnessed improvements in switchboard technology and long-distance calling, making the network of the telephone more extensive and efficient. In 1947, Bell Labs developed the concept of the cellular telephony, laying the foundation for future mobile communication.
Modern Era Transformations
Moving on to the 1960s, another significant change occurred which shaped the history of the telephone, ushering in touch-tone dialing as a replacement of the rotary dial with keypad. This made dialing faster and more intuitive.
Also, the break up of AT&T’s monopoly in 1984 opened new doors for more innovative and competitive technologies in the telecommunications industry.
What followed next was the digital revolution that began in the 1990s. 2G digital mobile networks was introduced to improve the quality and capacity of calls, with the internet starting to influence telecommunications.
This eventually led to the rise of voice over internet protocol (VOIP), which made voice communication over the internet possible.
A Researcher and Software Engineer who is committed to bridging the digital divide in underserved communities.
