Abstract
Telecommunications is a branch of technology concerned with the transmission of information over a distance, where the transmitter sends the information to a receiver. The development of the AXE system by Ericsson is discussed, and this was the first fully automated digital switching system. We discuss the concept of a cellular system, which was introduced by Bell Labs, as well as the introduction of the first mobile phone, the DynaTAC, by Motorola. We discuss the Iridium system, which was launched in late 1998 to provide worldwide wireless coverage to its customers, and the coverage included the oceans, airways and Polar Regions. The existing telecom systems had limited coverage in remote areas, and so the concept of global coverage as provided by Iridium was potentially very useful.
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Notes
- 1.
He was the first person to patent the telephone as an “apparatus for transmitting vocal or other sounds telegraphically.” There are several other claimants for inventing the telephone.
- 2.
The attitude of Motorola at the time seemed to be like that of Henry Ford, that is, they can have whatever color they like as long as it is black.
References
The Idea Factory: Bell Labs and the Great Age of American Innovation. Jon Gertner. Penguin Books. 2013.
The Ericsson Chronicle: 125 Years in Telecommunications. John Meurling and Richard Jeans. Informations for laget. 2001.
Motorola (CB) - A Journey Through Time and Technology. Motorola Museum of Electrics and Motorola. Purdue University Press. 1999.
Pillars of Computing. Gerard O’ Regan. Springer Verlag. 2015.
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O’Regan, G. (2021). A Short History of Telecommunications. In: A Brief History of Computing. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-66599-9_17
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-66599-9_17
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