Facts about Telephone

The term "wireless" can refer to any telephone that uses radio waves for transmission, but it is primarily used for cell phones.

Recently, however, the British government announced that it now recognizes (primarily for educational purposes) Antonio Meucci (see below) as the 'first inventor' of the telephone.

The telephone (or phone) (from Greek: tele = far away; phone = voice) is a telecommunications device that is used to transmit and receive sounds (most commonly voice and speech) across distances.

The traditional telephone network, known as the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), has gradually developed toward digital telephony, thereby improving the capacity and quality of the network.

Most telephones operate through the transmission of electric signals over a complex telephone network that allows almost any phone user to communicate with almost any other.

The modern telephone is the result of the work of many, all worthy of recognition of their contribution to the field.

The telephone is also used to deliver bomb threats or demand ransom money.

An early phreaking tool was the "blue box," an electronic device that simulates a telephone operator's dialing console.

The blue box was typically used to get free telephone calls.

A timeline of the invention and development of the telephone is given below.

Cordless and mobile phones are now common in many places around the world, with mobile phones expected to gradually displace the conventional landline telephone.

To establish communications from remote locations and disaster zones, where constructing a cell network would be too unprofitable or difficult, some mobile telephones are set up to communicate directly with an orbiting satellite.

The name for this technique refers to the 1983 film WarGames, in which the protagonist programs his computer to dial every telephone number in Sunnyvale, California, to find other computer systems.

Much money was expended, particularly in the Bell Telephone companies, and the aggressive defense of the Bell patents resulted in much confusion.

The identity of the inventor of the electric telephone remains in dispute.

VoIP is also used on private wireless networks which may or may not have a connection to the outside telephone network.

Cordless telephones, invented by Teri Pall in 1965, consist of a base unit that connects to the landline system and also communicates with remote handsets by low-power radio.

The telephone system has long been beset with such abusive activities as fraud, prank calls, bomb threats, and so forth.

End-to-end analog telephone networks were first modified in the 1970s by upgrading long-haul transmission networks with SONET technology and fiber optic transmission methods.

Fraud may take any of several forms: a consumer attempting to defraud the telephone company; the telephone company attempting to defraud consumers; or a third party attempting to defraud either of them.

Until relatively recently, a "telephone" generally referred only to landlines.