International telecommunications networks

In order to provide overseas telecommunications, people had to develop networks that could link widely separated nations. The first networks to provide such linkage were telegraph networks that used undersea cables, but these networks could provide channels for only a few simultaneous communications. Shortwave radio also made it possible for wireless transmissions of both telegraphy and voice over very long distances.

To take advantage of the wideband capability of satellites to provide telecommunications service, companies from all over the world pooled resources and shared risks by creating a cooperative known as the International Telecommunications Satellite Organization, or Intelsat, in 1964. Transoceanic satellite telecommunications first became possible in 1965 with the successful launch of Early Bird, also known as Intelsat 1. Intelsat 1 provided the first international television transmission and had the capacity to handle one television channel or 240 simultaneous telephone calls.

Intelsat later expanded and diversified to meet the global and regional satellite requirements of more than 200 nations and territories. In response to private satellite ventures entering the market, the managers of Intelsat converted the cooperative into a private corporation better able to compete with these emerging companies. The International Mobile Satellite Organization (Inmarsat) primarily provided service to oceangoing vessels when it first formed as a cooperative in 1979, but it later expanded operations to include service to airplanes and users in remote land areas not served by cellular radio or wireline services. Inmarsat became a privatized, commercial venture in 1999.

Current developments

Personal computers have pushed the limits of the telephone system as more and more complex computer messages are being sent over telephone lines, and at rapidly increasing speeds. This need for speed has encouraged the development f igital transmission technology. The growing use of personal computers for telecommunications has increased the need for innovations in fiber-optic technology.

Telecommunications and information technologies are merging and converging. This means that many of the devices now associated with only one function may evolve into more versatile equipment. This convergence is already happening in various fields. Some telephones and pagers are able to store not only phone numbers but also names and personal information about callers. Wireless phones with keyboards and small screens can access the Internet and send and receive e-mail messages. Personal computers can now access information and video entertainment and are in effect becoming a combined television set and computer terminal. Television sets can access the Internet through add-on appliances. Future modifications and technology innovations may blur the distinctions between appliances even more.

Convergence of telecommunications technologies may also trigger a change in the kind of content available. Both television and personal computers are likely to incorporate new multimedia, interactive, and digital features. However, in the near term, before the actualization of a fully digital telecommunications world, devices such as modems will still be necessary to provide an essential link between the old analog world and the upcoming digital one.