Basic Communication Networks

Abstract

A handful of scientists (Boole), experimentalists (Tyndell, Marconi, Bell), mathematicians (Fourier, Maxwell and Shannon) and technologists (Bardeen, von Neumann, Pierce, Patel and Tarbox) dominate the arena of seminal communication systems. Networks are dominated by corporations rather than individuals, and the collective effort becomes the driving force in the realization of gigantic information grids that perform mostly without grid locks. From the perspective of the 1990s, communication networks have an economic, political, and social context. Information being the power, and communication being its transport, they can be catalysts towards progress and change. In this chapter, the basic technical milestones in the Western cultures that have accelerated progress and the economic growth are surveyed.