Telco Origins – Part 4

While we often think of the telephone having the greatest impact on modern telecommunications, the invention of the radio by Guglielmo Marconi far surpassed it.   A German physicist named Heinrich Hertz actually discovered radio waves, proving that electromagnetic waves could be sent from Earth all the way into space long before anyone took one giant leap for all mankind.  Hertz never made any money off his discovery and died before it actually became a profitable venture.

Marconi had read about Hertz in the paper and realized he could use what had come to be known as Hertzian waves to create the first wireless telegraph.  By 1895 his experiments allowed him to send wireless signals for over one mile.  His native Italy would not fund Marconi’s experiments but England was more than willing, investing in its commercial development.

By 1898 the first wireless factory had opened, capable of successfully sending fully coded wireless transmissions over a distance of almost sixty miles.  As more and more ships started to use his technology, Marconi created specific dedicated circuits that could be tuned for wireless transmission and, in so doing, isolate all other transmissions to provide an uninterrupted concentrated signal.  By 1901 a signal could be transmitted successfully across the Atlantic Ocean.

Marconi’s wireless transmitter was even used on the ill-fated Titanic voyage.  While rescuers could not reach the survivors in time to save Leonardo DiCaprio from an icy death, signals transmitted using the technology helped save hundreds of others, including the eventual rescue of Kate Winslet.  My heart will carry on until next time….