The Telecommunication – Let us know the industry

Communication is an important part of life and telecommunication has simplified it to a greater extent. The evolution of telecommunication is really fascinating. It is one of the fastest growing industries in the world which is bringing the world closer day after day.

According to estimates of the World Bank, employment in the telecommunications has shown the highest growth among all the sectors in services industry since 1994.

Etymology:

The word telecommunication was adapted from the French. It is a compound of the Greek prefix tele- meaning "distant", and the Latin communicare- meaning "to share". In 1904, this word was coined by the French engineer and novelist Édouard Estaunié.

Chronology:

1)      The first commercial electrical telegraph was constructed by Sir Charles Wheatstone and Sir Willian Fothergill Cooke, and its use began on April 9, 1839.

2)      Then many transformation and improvement were done in telegraphic.

3)      The conventional telephone system currently in use worldwide was first patented by Alexander Graham Bell in March 1876. As with other great inventions such as radio, television, the light bulb, and the digital computer.

4)      Alexander Graham Bell and Gardiner Greene Hubbard, who created the first telephone company, the Bell Telephone Company of the United States, later evolved into AT&T (American Telephone & Telegraph).

5)      The first commercial telephone services were set up in 1878 and 1879 on both sides of the Atlantic in the cities of New Haven, Connecticut, and London, England.

Top 5 largest operators in the world (as of mid 2016):

We have many telecom operators in the world. Based on the number of subscribers in millions, given below are the top five operators:

1)      China Mobile : 834.7 mn (April 2016)

2)      Vodafone : 462.2 mn(March 2016)

3)      Airtel : 357.4 mn (March 2016)

4)      China Unicom: 286.6 mn (December 2015)

5)      America Movil : 284.0 mn (March 2016)

Fun facts about Telecom industry:

• Alexander Graham Bell wanted the greeting for the telephone to be "Ahoy", as it is used in ships, but later it was superseded by Thomas Edison, who suggested "Hello" instead.
• The first phone call was "Watson come here, I want you!"  It was made in 1876 in Boston between Alexander Bell and his assistant T. Watson.
• The first mobile phone text was "Merry Christmas.''. It was sent on 3^rd December, 1992 (24 years ago from now). Neil Papworth, a software programmer from Reading, sent the first message to his friend Richard Jarvis of Vodafone. At that time mobile phones didn't have a keyboard, that’s why it was sent via personal computer.
• The most common use for a mobile is neither texting nor calling but checking the time !!!

Important concepts in telecommunications:

✓  Telephone

✓  VoIP

✓  Videoconferencing

✓  Television

✓  E-mail

✓  Instant messaging

✓  Radio

Major telecommunications equipment manufacturers:

o   AT&T

o   Ericsson

o   Alcatel-Lucent

o   Avaya

o   Aricent

o   NEC

o   Nortel

o   ZTE

o   Cisco Systems

o   Huawei

o   Ciena

o   Fujitsu

o   Nokia-Siemens Networks (now called Nokia Solutions and Networks)

o   HCL Technologies

o   ShoreTel

o   Wildix

o   Verizon

Moving forward, I will explain the technical topics one by one. If we have our fundamentals strong, no one can defeat us. This knowledge can help us troubleshoot our day to day issues in telecom.

Please comment below if you have any questions.