Telephony and Telegraphy

Reference books:
 An Introduction to Instruments and Switching
Systems ---- By, Sydney F. Smith
 Telecommunication Switching Systems and
Networks----- By, Thiagarajan Viswanathan
Telecommunication Switching and Networks----
-By, P. Gnanasivam
 Contents
 What are communication &
telecommunication?
 What are Telephony & Telegraphy?
 History of telephone
 Telephone Network

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 What are commn. & telecommn.?
Communication means transfer of message or information from one point
to another point in far distance. It includes things like voice, video, text,
picture, written message (more precisely data in bits) etc.

Basic principle of any communication

Message Trans- Transmission medium Message

Receiver
source mitter source

The Greek word ‘Tele’ means far, so that the word ‘Telecommunication’
means literally communication over long distance. Telecommunication may
be defined as transfer of information by electrical means over distances
which can be greater than the normal range of senses.

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 Telephony and Telegraphy
There are two forms of Telecommunication:
 Telephony
In telephony, messages are sent and
 Telegraphy received in spoken form using instruments
called telephones.
• Telephony
– Transmission of sound signals over a distance
– The word telephony is a Greek word Tele means “far off”,
and Phone means “sound”, meaning 'to transfer sound in
long distance'.
• Telegraphy
– Transmission of written message over a distance
– The word telegraphy is a Greek word Tele means “far off”,
and Grapho means “I write”, meaning 'to transfer written
message in long distance'.
 Time before Phones

• 1831 – Professor Joseph Henry,

Albany, NY – Ring a bell at a
distance by connecting and
disconnecting wires.
• May 24, 1844 -- Samuel Morse
sends from Baltimore to
Washington, D.C. “What hath
God wrought.” using Morse code
 Time Before Phones

• 1854 – 25,000 miles of telegraph wires have been laid

across the US.
– Train schedules, weather, important news
• 1864 – A telegraph line spans the entire continental
US
– Western Union is formed.
• 1866 – Trans Atlantic telegraph
– 8 words a minute
• Very costly
 Who Invented the Phone?
• 1861 – Johann Reiss, a German physics teacher,
completed an almost working version of a
telephone.
– Used: sausage skin, beer barrel, platinum bar
– Function: sent musical notes to a receiver that could
play them.
– Downsides: same idea as the telegraph; making
and breaking a circuit. Not continuous.
 Who Invented the Phone?
• 1871 – Antonio Meucci, an Italian immigrant living in
New York, files a caveat (an announcement of
invention) of a talking telegraph. However, due to
financial hardships, he is unable to pay for a full
patent when the caveat is due 3 months later.
 Who Invented the Phone?
• February 14, 1876 (Valentine’s Day), Boston, MA – US
Patent Office
– 9:30 AM – Elisha Gray (or his lawyer) files a caveat for an
invention described as “the art of transmitting vocal sounds
or conversations telegraphically through an electric circuit.”
– 11:30 AM – Alexander Graham Bell’s lawyer files AND pays
for a patent described as "Improvements in Telegraphy.“
– 2:30 PM – Elisha Gray’s caveat is paid for so that a patent
can be granted.
 Who Invented the Phone?
• US Patent 174,465
– Said to be the most valuable patent ever
• Over 600 lawsuits were filed in the 1800’s over it.
• Awarded to:
– Bell in 1876

Bell tried to sell the patent rights to

Western Union in 1876 for $100,000.

Western Union said the patent was

worthless; who’d want voice when the
telegraph still work?
 Who Invented the Phone?
• When the patents were filed, Bell’s phone didn’t work.
– Gray’s was a better design
• March 10, 1876:
– “Mr. Watson, Come here! I want you!”
– First telephone message.
• A one wire, copper system was
used at first.

A 2 wire system was invented in 1881

- Much clearer conversation.
- Insulated by cotton/rubber and twisted
 Who Invented the Phone?
• Bell’s first phone used a metal disk attached to a rod
floating in acid to create a variable resistance.
– A change in intensity made the disk vibrate differently.
• 1877 – Thomas Edison invents the carbon microphone.
– Used in phones until late 1970’s
• A phone produced from around 1900 on will still work
on today’s phone network.
 Who Invented the Phone?
• Alexander Graham Bell was awarded the first
US patent for a device which ultimately became
the telephone.
• Who invented the telephone is very debatable.
 Who Invented the Phone?

Elisha Gray
Alexander Graham Bell