In the late 1970s to 1990, there were several milestones in the history of the telephone, yet very few major turning points. The big changes were the mobile phone being invented for commercial use, and the beginning of the mobile networks.
The interesting part of this period of time is all the technology changes that were occurring. There was much growth in the technology used for telephones which would have brought about several changes to how society interacts, and the educational impacts of these matters. Please read on to find out more.
The interesting part of this period of time is all the technology changes that were occurring. There was much growth in the technology used for telephones which would have brought about several changes to how society interacts, and the educational impacts of these matters. Please read on to find out more.
1976 – Caller ID was invented by Kazuo Hashimoto
Although the idea of caller identification had been previously entertained, and prototypes of receiving a caller’s phone number were created in 1971 (Wikipedia), the invention of Caller ID is still credited to Kazuo Hashimoto in 1976. He first built a prototype that could receive caller identification information, and the resulting patent was licensed to many of the major telecommunication companies.
It would not be until the late 1980s that Caller ID would start to see deployment into the marketplace. However, this would create several new issues surrounding privacy with telecommunications. Caller ID would share names and phone numbers with others, which could be considered a breach of one’s personal information. |
The Information and Privacy Commissioner has outlined several issues surrounding using Caller ID. Caller ID may not be appropriate in the case where a private and confidential issue is being reported (for example sexual harassment in the workplace), if the phone number will trigger automatic account retrieval of information and the person calling may not be privy to the information, and with that, making sure the person on the other line does not reveal any information to the caller based on identification by the phone number (Wright, 1992).
People have the right to assume that their information will not be given out without their prior consent. Businesses or the government using automatic information retrieval is only one issue with this matter. For instance, if I am calling an individual, I should have the right to know that my phone number is being displayed. One can block their ID from being displayed by pressing *67, or by having an unlisted phone number. However, it seems backwards that the default is that our phone numbers are displayed unless we opt otherwise.
There would also be social implications relating to these new developments in technology. Technology, including Caller ID, changes how individuals interact with other and how they react with themselves (Franklin, 1999). Caller ID allows individuals to choose who they answer a call from. This invention now allows people to choose not to talk to an individual for whatever reason they see fit. Before, people would be more likely to answer the phone, and then converse with the individual whether they wanted to or not, to follow the acceptable social norm.
This would change how people interact with each other, by giving individuals the choice of whether they wanted to interact with each other. This is an example of the self-reflectiveness of second orality (Ong, 1982). Society now gets to decide, or reflect on how and when they communicate with others. It becomes more of an accepted social norm to choose not to talk to someone when they are trying to call you, rather than picking up the phone, regardless of who it is, because you are unsure of whom it is. However, orality is supposed to stress group learning, cooperation, and a sense of social responsibility (Postman, 1992), and this seems to be doing the complete opposite.
People have the right to assume that their information will not be given out without their prior consent. Businesses or the government using automatic information retrieval is only one issue with this matter. For instance, if I am calling an individual, I should have the right to know that my phone number is being displayed. One can block their ID from being displayed by pressing *67, or by having an unlisted phone number. However, it seems backwards that the default is that our phone numbers are displayed unless we opt otherwise.
There would also be social implications relating to these new developments in technology. Technology, including Caller ID, changes how individuals interact with other and how they react with themselves (Franklin, 1999). Caller ID allows individuals to choose who they answer a call from. This invention now allows people to choose not to talk to an individual for whatever reason they see fit. Before, people would be more likely to answer the phone, and then converse with the individual whether they wanted to or not, to follow the acceptable social norm.
This would change how people interact with each other, by giving individuals the choice of whether they wanted to interact with each other. This is an example of the self-reflectiveness of second orality (Ong, 1982). Society now gets to decide, or reflect on how and when they communicate with others. It becomes more of an accepted social norm to choose not to talk to someone when they are trying to call you, rather than picking up the phone, regardless of who it is, because you are unsure of whom it is. However, orality is supposed to stress group learning, cooperation, and a sense of social responsibility (Postman, 1992), and this seems to be doing the complete opposite.
1978 – Bell Labs launched a trial of the first commercial cellular network
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1979- Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is running network voice protocol (NVP) on early versions of IP
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1981 – The first fully automatic cellular phone system, Nordic Mobile Telephone (NMT) is started in Europe
On October 1, 1981, the Nordic Mobile Telephone system opened. It was the first fully automated cellular phone system, and was created in a response to the congestion of manual mobile lines. It was based on an analog system and originated in Norway and Sweden.
By 1985 the network had grown to over 110 000 users in Finland and Scandinavia alone, making it the world’s largest mobile network. It has since been shut down in many countries in the 2000s, being replaced by new digital networks.
There are many implications that the creation of the first automatic cellular network has. The first is the rapid growth of individuals using the cellular network. This changes social interaction with others by allowing people to talk to each other freely, at any time, at any place. The decision to use mobile phones is a reflection of the person placing the call, the person receiving the call, and the information itself (Kress, 2004). As society chooses to use mobile phones increasingly, it also changes the way society is perceived.
This change will lead the change of society’s need to talk to one another on their mobile phones in public. Data shows that the majority of cellphone users and non-cellphone users find that mobile phone use in public is invasive and disturbs others (Ling, 2004). Rather than the concern about what others may think, and the fact that private conversations are more readily available than earlier, individuals choose to make their conversations public. Although this is more prevalent in today’s society, this creation of the automatic mobile network leads the path for the future networks, and the ease of connecting with others.
The ability to make communication so readily available also changes education. As oral communication grows, it is important that students are taught appropriate ways to communicate verbally, as well as in the written word. The growth of the technology also was starting to increase, and would change the skills required as well. This was just the beginning of telephone technology growth, as it would soon begin to change and develop exponentially.
By 1985 the network had grown to over 110 000 users in Finland and Scandinavia alone, making it the world’s largest mobile network. It has since been shut down in many countries in the 2000s, being replaced by new digital networks.
There are many implications that the creation of the first automatic cellular network has. The first is the rapid growth of individuals using the cellular network. This changes social interaction with others by allowing people to talk to each other freely, at any time, at any place. The decision to use mobile phones is a reflection of the person placing the call, the person receiving the call, and the information itself (Kress, 2004). As society chooses to use mobile phones increasingly, it also changes the way society is perceived.
This change will lead the change of society’s need to talk to one another on their mobile phones in public. Data shows that the majority of cellphone users and non-cellphone users find that mobile phone use in public is invasive and disturbs others (Ling, 2004). Rather than the concern about what others may think, and the fact that private conversations are more readily available than earlier, individuals choose to make their conversations public. Although this is more prevalent in today’s society, this creation of the automatic mobile network leads the path for the future networks, and the ease of connecting with others.
The ability to make communication so readily available also changes education. As oral communication grows, it is important that students are taught appropriate ways to communicate verbally, as well as in the written word. The growth of the technology also was starting to increase, and would change the skills required as well. This was just the beginning of telephone technology growth, as it would soon begin to change and develop exponentially.