Telephone
The telephone or phone is a telecommunications device which is used to transmit and receive sound (most commonly voice and speech) across distance. more...
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Most telephones operate through transmission of electric signals over a complex telephone network which allows almost any phone user to communicate with almost any other.
Introduction
An elementary telephone system consists of three elements:
For each subscriber, the system must contain the equipment necessary to convert sound to electrical signals and back. This allows the subscriber to answer or initiate a call.;
The system must contain a central switching facility which interconnects all the subscribers.;
Finally, the system requires wiring or other means to connect the subscribers to the central switching facility.;
There are three principal ways a subscriber may be connected to the telephone network:
Historically, and still very commonly, by dedicated physical wire connections run in overhead or underground cables;;
By radio, as in a cordless, cellular, satellite or radiotelephone and;
By voice over internet protocol (VoIP) telephones, which use broadband internet connections.;
History
The identity of the inventor of the electric telephone remains in dispute. Antonio Meucci, Johann Philipp Reis, Alexander Graham Bell and Elisha Gray, amongst others, have all been credited with the invention.
The very early history of the telephone is a confusing morass of claim and counterclaim, which was not clarified by the huge mass of lawsuits which hoped to resolve the patent claims of individuals. Much money was expended, particularly in the Bell Telephone companies, and the aggressive defense of the Bell patents resulted in much confusion. Additionally, the earliest investigators preferred publication in the popular press and demonstration to investors instead of scientific publication and demonstration to fellow scientists. It is important to note that there is probably no single "inventor of the telephone". The modern telephone is the result of work done by many hands, all worthy of recognition of their addition to the field. Only in the last ten years, however, has the British government announced that it now recognizes (primarily for educational purposes) Antonio Meucci (see below) as the 'first inventor' of the telephone. This was acknowledged even by the US Congress in 2003 .
- Further information: History of telephone
- Further information: Timeline of the telephone
- Further information: Invention of the telephone
Early development
The following is a brief summary of the history of the invention of the telephone:
Read more at Wikipedia.org
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