Emily Druce | Livin' in London town

There has been marked business continuity in the development of telecommunications. As early as the 4th century BC one can find evidence of telecommunication systems in place. The Ancient Greeks used hydraulic semaphore systems which functioned as optical telegraphs. The hydraulic semaphore systems were not too useful however as they could only transmit a very limited range or messages that had to be pre-determined, and also, they did not function when weather conditions were not clear.

Over time, telecommunication systems developed. Chains of beacons placed atop hills were employed during the Middle Ages as a means of relaying a signal. The big problem with beacon chains was that they could only transmit one singular pre-determined message such as “the enemy is coming”. However, when employed for such a purpose as that, they proved extremely useful. Indeed, during the Spanish Armada, a beacon chain running from Plymouth to London warned the capital of the arrival of the Spanish ships. The man responsible for the first fixed visual telegraphy system was Claude Chappe, a French engineer who built the system in 1792, the system running from Lille to Paris.