Alexander Graham Bell wanted to improve on the telegraph which had been the only source of communicating for three decades by the late 1800′s. Since the telegraph was a wire based electrical system, similar to the phone, the invention acutally occurred by accident. He patented the phone which he originally named the harmonic telegraph in 1876 when realizing sound and voices can be carried over the wires instead of signals. With the invention of the telephone, the telegraph fell by the wayside because the phone was so much more effective . Mr. Bell would be thrilled to see the continuing advances of his original invention still happening today.
The rate of technology and change for the phone over the past 3 decades is dramatic . 40 years ago telephones were connected by above the ground wiring using a local operator who controlled the flow of the calls, basically. Each person had a phone number and to dial it, a rotary wheel was used and was the only way to dial for some time. In more rural areas, party line style phones were still being used where others could hear your conversations with your friends simultaneously which allowed no privacy.
The 80′s is when the phone started to change with the start of push button dialing, car phones and cordless phones all making their debut . To be able to talk on a phone in your car or the ability to walk around your home while talking on the phone and not be tethered to the phone by the cord were considered huge changes to the phone. In the late 80′s the cellular or mobile phone started to become popular too which was even more advanced than a phone plugged into your car lighter . Now, with computer technology the options for calling someone are endless and continue to change almost every six months. Cell phones now do a lot more than simply calling a person as they have access to the internet now. If you want to see the person you are having a conversation with, then have a video talk with them using a web cam to be more connected.
Astronauts, deep sea divers and people going into the deep wilderness can all use special telephones also using different frequencies such as satellite to make a call. The number of lines a business can accommodate is huge also with high tech business phone systems being used at most businesses making it a lot more efficient business .
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