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History of Telecommunications and its impact on Australian Society
This unit addresses aspects of the following syllabus outcomes:
H1.1 describes the scope of engineering and critically analyses current innovations
H2.2 analyses and synthesizes engineering applications in specific fields and reports on the importance of these to society
H4.1 investigates the extent of technological change in engineering
H4.3 Appreciates social, environmental and cultural implications of technological change in engineering and applies them to the analysis of specific problems.
H5.1 Works individually and in teams to solve specific engineering problems and in the preparation of engineering reports.
Source: Board of Studies Stage 6 Engineering Studies syllabus Sydney : Board of Studies.
INTRODUCTION
Telecommunication is a technology that reduces the problems associated with distances between continents, countries and towns. To contact another person by telephone the distance between the two telephones may be metres or thousands of kilometres, but the people concerned seem to be as close as the room next door.
For centuries, messages were conveyed by messengers or couriers who either ran or walked, or were transported by boat, horse or carriage. When fire, smoke or sound signals were used, they simply confirmed pre-arranged messages.
With telecommunications systems a message does not need a messenger. Telecommunications removed the "master-servant" relationship replacing the service of a messenger by mechanical telegraph in 1794, by copper wires in 1837, by electromagnetic waves in 1896 and by optical fibre in 1973.
Telecommunications enormously reduces the time to transport messages, and it therefore helps to accelerate business dealings and facilitates human relationships. For example a letter sent from London to the colony in Sydney in the late 18th Century could take up to 11 months to be delivered by sailing ship, with the modern telephone system two callers are only a few seconds apart.
Throughout history there have been key developments which have moved telecommunications technology forward. These developments have all impacted on society in some way.
Activity 1
Global developments in the history of telecommunications
Visit the web address at http://www.webbconsult.com/hist-time.html 
and click on the links to view the developments for each historical period
mentioned.
Use the table format below to enter a minimum of TWO key developments for each historical time period.
| TELECOMMUNICATIONS TIME LINE | ||
|---|---|---|
| TIME PERIOD | YEAR | DEVELOPMENT |
| 1800s | ||
| 1900s | ||
| 1920s | ||
| 1930s | ||
| 1940s | ||
| 1950s | ||
| 1960s | ||
| 1970s | ||
| 1980s | ||
| 1990s | ||
| 2000s | ||
Activity 2
Australian developments in the history of telecommunications.
Visit the web address http://www.caslon.com.au/austelecomsprofile.htm
The chronology of telecommunications in Australia can be grouped under a series of what could be referred to as landmarks. These landmarks are listed below:
- telegraphy (1854)
- early telephony (1879)
- Federation and a national network (1901)
- radio broadcasting (1922)
- OTC (1946)
- deregulation (1975)
- wireless (1993)
- churn (1996)
- after the crash (2000)
- the ACMA era (2005)
Use the table format shown below to select a minimum of THREE significant events for each landmark period.
| AUSTRALIAN TELECOMMUNICATIONS TIME LINE | ||
|---|---|---|
| LANDMARK PERIOD | YEAR | DEVELOPMENT |
| telegraphy(1854) | ||
| early telephony (1879) | ||
| Federation and a national network (1901) | ||
| radio broadcasting (1922) | ||
| OTC (1946) | ||
| deregulation(1975) | ||
| Wireless(1993) | ||
| churn (1996) | ||
| after the crash (2000) | ||
| the ACMA era (2005) | ||
Activity 3
Discussion of some historical developments in Australian telecommunications.
The history of telecommunications in Australia up to the mid-1980s was characterised by a series of seemingly insignificant events which ultimately impacted on Australian society.
The historical periods for this type of change can be described as:
- the colonial period
- first telephony
- shape of the network
- federation
- radio and picturegrams
- consolidation
- the emergence of data networks
Visit the URL http://www.caslon.com.au/austelecomsprofile1.htm
and identify ONE event from each of the periods listed above and write a brief paragraph on this event. Use the table format given below.
| AUSTRALIAN TELECOMMUNICATIONS EVENTS | ||
|---|---|---|
| HISTORICAL PERIOD | DISCUSSION | |
| the colonial period | ||
| first telephony | ||
| shape of the network | ||
| federation | ||
| radio and picturegrams | ||
| consolidation | ||
| the emergence of data networks | ||
Activity 4
Societal Impacts Resulting From the Development of Telecommunications
As you have discovered, the development of telecommunications has had a profound impact on our technological society.
Open the following web site,
http://www.assa.edu.au/Publications/mobilephone.pdf
and scroll down to the section titled "III Work, Home and Leisure."
This web site uses the mobile phone as a case study. Read this section, and find three ways in which mobile phone technology has impacted on society.
Now scroll down to the section "IV Patterns of Use of Mobile Telecommunications" and find at least one new pattern for the use of the mobile phone.
Other Web addresses for further research.
http://www.caslon.com.au/timeline1.htm
http://www.anu.edu.au/people/Roger.Clarke/II/OzIHist.html
http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/24/index-x.html
http://www.telecom.co.nz/content/0,2502,200633-1548,00.html
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