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1970
|
Corning Glass demonstrate
highly transparent fibers, and Bell
Laboratories demonstrates semiconductor
lasers that could operate at
room temperature; these demonstrations
help establish the
feasibility of fiber-optic communications
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1971
|
The Intelsat IV
communications satellite goes into
commercial operation.
Initially it has 830 circuits in service
and linked ground stations
in 15 countries.
The DUV (Data Under Voice)
is introduced. It permits signals to
"hitch-hike" on existing microwave radio
systems by using the lower
end of the frequency band not normally
used for voice.
Ray Tomlinson writes the
first email program. The @ sign is used
for the first time in an email address.
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|
1972
|
IEEE Communications Society
is established on 1 January.
Jon Postel writes the
specifications for Telnet.
IEEE Proceedings publishes its
first issue on computer
communications. Guest Editors are Paul
Green and Robert Lucky.
A demonstration of the
ARPANET at the 1972 IEEE International
Conference on Computer Communications.
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|
1973
|
Robert Metcalfe invents
Ethernet at Xerox PARC. Ethernet uses a
cable rather than a radio channel as the
transmission medium.
The "Touch-a-matic"
telephone is introduced. It can
automatically dial a call anywhere in
the U.S. at the touch of a
single button. Its solid-state memory
allows dialing up to 32
pre-coded telephone numbers.
Construction of a new,
high-capacity coaxial cable system,
called L5, is completed
between Pittsburgh and St. Louis. It has
the capacity of carrying
108,000 simultaneous telephone
conversations, three times
the capacity of any previous system.
File Transfer Protocol (FTP)
is introduced.
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|
1974
|
Vinton Cerf and Robert Kahn
publish "A Protocol for Packet
Network Interconnection", in IEEE
Communications
Magazine, which outlines design of
a Transmission Control
Program (TCP). The term "Internet" is
used for the first time.
Western Union launches
Westar, the nation's first domestic
communications satellite.
New York Telephone
inaugurated Dial-A-Joke, an addition to
the recorded announcement
field. During the first month of
operation, more than 100,000
calls a day are made to the number.
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1975
|
Bolt, Beranek and Newman
(BBN) opens Telenet, the first public
packet data service.
Viking is launched. Lands on
Mars in 1976 and sends back data to
Earth.
Transmission testing begins
on the T4M, highest-capacity,
short-haul digital transmission system
in the U.S. The new system,
linking Newark, NJ to New York City,
transmits 274 million "bits"
of information per second over a single
coaxial tube.
|
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1976
|
Centennial of the Telephone
IEEE establishes the
Alexander Graham Bell Medal to
commemorate of the
centennial of the telephone's invention
and to provide recognition
for outstanding contributions in
telecommunications. Amos
Joel, William Keister and Raymond
Ketchledge are the first
recipients.
COMSTAR is launched and
begins commercial service. It is in
permanent orbit over the Galapagos Islands.
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|
1977
|
Voyager spacecraft is
launched. Sends back signals from
Jupiter (1979-1980), Saturn
(1981), Uranus (1986) and Neptune
(1989).
Bell Laboratories announces
the development of the MAC-8, a
microprocessor suited for a wide range
of telecommunications applications.
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1978
|
TAT-1, the world's first
transoceanic telephone cable was retired
(27 November)
TCP split into TCP and IP
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1979
|
A 62,000-mile microwave
telecommunications system is completed
within Saudi Arabia.
Emoticons are suggested :-)
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