Devices that we used to communicate…

Communication devices in the last two decades saw dramatic disruptions and incremental innovation...

Communication devices in the last two decades saw dramatic disruptions and incremental innovation, responding to customer needs in new ways. Many devices were relegated to the background abruptly and some left behind a legacy of features that the present devices still make the most of. Single devices converged distinct media from telephony and complex data into a common interface. Here is a look at how we have communicated in the last 20 years from telegraphy devices to wearables, where the “best of the product line” is yet to come.

Telegraphy

Devices employed methods of encoding the message that were known to both sender and receiver. Guided by that principle the device morphed from earlier Morse Code System to the present digital web based system. Earlier, the devices used to transmit signals via electrical signals. The invention of radio transformed the devices into radio telegraphy and wireless modes. Even after the message communication was automated, the skill of the human operator decided the speed and accuracy of the message. With the Internet the telegraphic devices became just another connected computing device with far greater sophistication, common interface and ease of use. In India, state-owned BSNL discontinued telegram services from July 15, 2013.

Telephones,

now referred to as POTS (Plain Old Telephone System) are on a steep decline with 30 million active system-base in India. The device has adapted itself to all shifts in telecom technology and today connects seamlessly over copper, fiber optic cables, microwave transmission, cellular networks, communications satellites, and undersea cables. The dramatic changes in switching technology through electromechanical relays, digital multiplexing, optical networks to all IP networks support the telephone systems. Originally designed for simple voice communications telephones have stayed relevant by incorporating new features. The device saw a major transformation with the introduction of Touch-Tone signaling using push-button dialpads that utilizes dual-tone multi-frequency (DTMF) signaling. The push-button format is also used for all cell phones. The electronics within push-button telephones made possible features like last-number re-dial and storage of commonly called numbers. The alphanumeric keypad helped the device keep up with the times with limited success by enabling text messaging, entering names in the phone book. Telephone continues to be the most familiar device for meeting the basic communication needs of about 30 million subscribers in India.