• Home

• Preface

• Alexander Graham Bell

• Telecommunications history

• How the telephone works

• Phone FUN facts

• Why the Phone Works When the Lights GO OUT

• FTTP (Fiber to the Prem)

• Future of Telecommunications

• Crossword Puzzle

• Word Search

• Glossary

• Credits

• Speech by Thomas Watson

Telecom Glossary .... cont

Rudimentary . Something not fully developed, an elementary principal or basic skill.

Star Trek A science fiction television series recounting the adventures of the Starship Enterprise and her crew as they explore Deep Space in the future.

Telecommunication The art and science of “communicating” over a distance by way of telephone, telegraph and/or radio. The transmission, reception and the switching of signals, such as electrical or optical, by wire, fiber or electromagnetic (wireless) means.

Telegraph A device that allows an operator, tapping a key, to transmit messages or data in Morse Code over wire to a distant destination. These wires were originally strung on poles along railway beds allowing fast exchange of information.Telephone Exchange A switching center for connecting and switching phone lines. A European term for what North Americans call a Central Office.

Transducer A device which converts one form of energy into another. The diaphragm in the telephone receiver and the carbon microphone in the transmitter are transducers. They change the vibrations in sound pressure (the voice) into variations in electricity and vice versa.

Transmitter The device in the telephone handset which converts speech into electrical impulses for transmission.

Tuberculosis A highly contagious bacterial disease typically marked by wasting, fever and tubercular damage to the lungs. It was very deadly before the discovery and development of antibiotics.

Voicemail A telephone system that allows you to receive, edit and forward messages to one or more voice mailboxes in your company, or as a feature of your private telephone service.