It has been over 135 years since Alexander Graham Bell uttered that famous phrase to his assistant: "Watson, come here, I need you."
Anyone who works or covers the telecom industry as a member of the press knows that Bell's demand was one of the first shots fired in the ever-evolving telecommunications industry.
Over the course of the past 100-plus years, there have been numerous innovations to the voice network--many of which we now take for granted. Take the invention of the negative feedback amplifier or vacuum tube repeaters: early telephone amplifiers that made transcontinental calling possible.
Of course, the wireline telecom network has evolved into a foundation for not only voice service, but also a platform to deliver a host of data, video and multimedia services that run over copper, coax and increasingly, fiber networks.
One of the key themes that you will see in this special report is how many of our honorees adapted their educational and research pursuits into commercial reality.
Please join me in tipping a hat to these wireline industry innovators.--Sean
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Alexander Graham Bell |
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Harold S. Black |
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Cleyson Brown |
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John Cioffi |
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Vint Cerf & Bob Kahn |
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Elisha Gray |
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Len Kleinrock |
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John MacChesney |
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Bill McGowan |
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Bob Metcalfe |
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Larry Roberts |
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Arthur Schawlow & Charles Townes |
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Claude Shannon |
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William Shockley, John Bardeen & Walter Brattain |
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Almon Strowger |