A The 21st century is already being described as the ‘Information Age’, not surprisingly, since communication and information technologies are widespread - in our homes, workplaces, and universities. It is probable that you have access to a mobile phone, radio, and television. It is equally likely that you have access to the global telecommunication network: the Internet. These forms of communication seem very modern, and yet the ‘Information Age’ of the early 21st century has a long and fascinating history.

B Deciding where to begin this history is difficult, but I would argue that our modern communication era started with the invention of telegraphy, literally, ‘writing at a distance’. In 1830, scientist Joseph Henry used an electromagnet to force a steel bar to swing and ring a bell. This was the first electrical signaling.

C Samuel Morse developed this idea and invented the first practical telegraph in 1838. His system used an electrical circuit, a battery, a wire joining two telegraph stations, and an electromagnet. For ease of communication, he developed the Morse code of dots and dashes.

D By the 1870s, news was travelling the world in seconds and many historic events such as the eruption of Krakatoa in 1883 and the sinking of the Titanic in 1912 were announced via the telegraph.

E Alexander Graham Bell understood the theory of a telephone, but struggled for a number of years to make a working model. Then, on March 10th 1876, he finally succeeded in transmitting speech. Bell’s first telephone did not resemble the telephones of today, and over the next 100 years it underwent many changes. A microphone was added to produce a stronger signal. Then, the telephone ‘bell’ was attached, and users were given a unique ‘telephone number’. Once amplifiers were added in the late 1920s, a telephone system was established that allowed people to talk across continents - the era of long-distance phone calls had arrived.

F The first half of the 20th century saw enormous technical developments in three main areas: radio, television, and computers. Radio waves were the first to be explored, and in 1902, Marconi sent the first transatlantic radio signal. The first domestic radio with tuners to listen to different stations appeared only 14 years later, in 1916. Once radio was established, scientists and inventors started investigating the possibility of transmitting pictures. The leap from transmitting sound to broadcasting pictures took place in 1925, when John Logie Baird sent the first experimental television signal. By 1939, regular scheduled television broadcasting had begun.

G Computers were being developed at the same time as TV and radio, and in 1944, computers were put into public service for the first time. The first generation of modern programmed electronic computers were built in 1947 and used Random Access Memory (RAM). This is a ‘memory’ which allows access to any particular piece of information at almost any time. The smallest of these computers was the size of a family car and could store only about 8,000 words. Since they were so large and stored so little, computers had to change considerably to become as widespread as televisions and radios had.

H From 1950 on, the development of computers was extremely rapid. In 1958, the integrated circuit or ‘chip’ was invented and computers started decreasing in size. In 1962, the first computer game, ‘Spacewar’, was sold, and computers became more popular. ARPANET, the original Internet, was launched in 1969, the first microprocessor was developed in 1971, and in 1981 the IBM PC (personal computer) was unveiled. The PC revolution had begun. Since then, computers have become smaller, faster, and ‘smarter’, and developed into what many of you use for your studies and entertainment today.

I But how did these technical advances in radio, television, and computing affect telephonic communication? Perhaps surprisingly, it was the work on radio waves that was to have the biggest initial effect on the development of the telephone. The new era of phones worked by using radio waves which transmitted a radio signal to a transmission center and then to the receiver. As they did not need to be attached to electrical wires, phones could be portable for the first time.

J The first generation (1G) phones were those developed in the 1980s. Much larger and heavier than today’s mobile phones, these had a fairly limited range as the transmission networks were still being established.

K It was with the second generation (2G) phones, developed in the 90s, that the mobile truly entered the digital era. The new protocols of these phones, the rules that organize how devices connect to a network, were transmitted digitalized, and the Short Message Service (SMS) was added. Texting was born.

L The second and a half generation (2.5G) phones worked on the same network protocol as 2G phones, but added Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) and General Packet Radio Service (GPRS). These enabled mobile phones to access certain websites. In addition, some 2.5G phones had coloured screens and cameras.

M However, in 2000 a whole new generation of phones was launched: the third generation (3G). These were based on completely new protocols which enabled high-speed connections.

N It is the fast connection that has allowed mobile phones to become multi-functional, and now many 3G phones are similar to Personal Digital Assistants (PDA), with operating systems (OS) such as Microsoft and Linux. These allow the phones to be used as mini-computers. Some have M- Commerce (Mobile Commerce) systems to allow the user to access, organize, and operate financial transactions such as making payments or selling stocks and shares. Many 3G phones also have the Global Positioning System (GPS), which enables users to know their exact position and to get directions to places they want to go.

O However, for many people it is the entertainment that mobiles provide that makes them so attractive. Users can play games, take pictures or make short films, listen to MP3 recordings, watch films, and tune into TV programmes in real time. The phones can also act as a modem, allowing owners to access their emails at any time.

P Research is already being carried out into Fourth Generation (4G) phones. These are expected to be launched in 2010. It is believed that the connection speed will rise to 100Mb per second. Other developments include the production of tiny wrist phones, holophones which project three-dimensional moving images of the owners, and remote-control of a car via your phone.

K The development of the mobile phone has been rapid and astonishing. There is no real way of telling what developments are yet to come, but, as we have seen from this brief overview, communication technology has a long and exciting history. We cannot doubt that it has a long and exciting future, too.

2. В каких абзацах текста ( A - K ) можно найти ответы на следующие вопросы:

1. [ ] how the first telegraph system worked?

2. [ ] the early stages of computer technology?

3. [ ] [ ] [ ] the first three types of mobile phones?

4. [ ] future developments of mobile telephony?