Communications

The Story of Human Communication

Long before the internet, humans needed ways to talk across distances. The telegraph and the telephone were the first great tools for this. The telegraph, for instance, played a direct role in settling the American West — it let distant towns stay connected to the centres of power and commerce. Later, the telephone became a driving force behind America's urbanisation. Big companies could keep their headquarters in a single city while running branch offices in smaller towns, all because a manager could simply pick up the phone. Even today, the telephone remains the most commonly used communication device worldwide.

In developing countries, the cell phone — made possible by satellites — has been a game-changer for rural connectivity. People in villages who never had a landline can now call anyone, anywhere.

The First Big Breakthrough: Optic Fibre Cables

The first major leap in modern communication came with optic fibre cables (OFC). Telephone companies around the world, facing fierce competition, began replacing their old copper cable systems with OFC. Why? Because optic fibre cables:

• Transmit large quantities of data rapidly.
• Are highly secure.
• Are virtually error-free.

Then, in the 1990s, something even bigger happened: the digitisation of information. Telecommunication systems slowly merged with computers to form integrated networks. That network is what we now call the Internet.

Satellite Communication

Satellites touch your life every time you use a cell phone, send an SMS, or watch a cable TV programme. Communication through satellites became a new frontier in the 1970s, after the USA and the former USSR pioneered space research. Today, artificial satellites are placed in the earth's orbit to connect even the most remote corners of the globe, with very little need for on-site verification.

India has made great strides in satellite development. Key milestones include:

• Aryabhatt — launched on 19 April 1975.
• Bhaskar-I — launched in 1979.
• Rohini — launched in 1980.
• APPLE (Arian Passenger Payload Experiment) — launched on 19 June 1981 via an Arian rocket.

Satellites like Bhaskar, Challenger, and INSAT I-B have made long-distance communication, television, and radio very effective. Today, weather forecasting on television — made possible by satellites — is a genuine boon.

Cyber Space – The Internet

Cyberspace is the world of electronic, computerised space. It is encompassed by the Internet, including the World Wide Web (www). In simple words, it is the electronic digital world for communicating or accessing information over computer networks — without the sender or receiver physically moving. It is also simply referred to as the Internet.

Cyberspace exists everywhere: in an office, on a sailing boat, in a flying plane — virtually anywhere. The speed at which this electronic network has spread is unprecedented in human history.