Discuss the History and Progression of the Voice Telecommunications Industry. What Are the Current Voice Network Standards?

Discuss the history and progression of the voice telecommunications industry. What are the current voice network standards?

Going back to prehistoric times the first type of communication was visual signals such as fires, beacons, and smoke. In the 6th century BC a hand carried mail system was developed. Within the 5th century BC pigeon post was implemented. With the start of the 4th century BC hydraulic semaphores where invented and put into use as a regular system. However, still using all visual signals in 490 BC Heliographs were developed becoming a widely used tool for communication. In 1790 AD lines for the newly invented Semaphone started to be used which were brought into the 19th century AD were yet another idea was developed and put into place, the signal lamp, which became the end of visual communication as the sole way of communicating to others. As our world developed and entered into 1838 AD, a device known as the electrical telegraph was invented and brought into mainstream us, in turn leading to the invention of the telephone in 1876. Twenty years later we were introduced to the radio, making the year 1896 one of history's road map moments ending the era of radio communication being the best means of communication available. Jumping ahead in time the television was invented along with pagers and cell phones, with today's world-using email as the most widely used form of communication. Currently the newest form of voice network standards is VoIP which means voice over internet protocol. A few other version of this exists including, internet telephony; voice over broadband, broadband telephony and broadband phones.

Standards are important in any industry. Discuss the various standards organizations utilized in this industry. Do they have conflicting charters or have they worked in different areas to form a coordinated industry overview?

Every country's policies are based upon different criteria. Each countries differences within government policies varies from one country to another as ideas often differ among various countries. In the past and currently today there have been countless times where international differences create problems for the planning and development a new standards within the industry. These differences have resulted in strain and aggravation between companies and regulatory agencies, which often carries over among countries in regards to trade issues. While ITU and the European Commission have been triumphant, issues still exist based on understanding and regulations. Representatives of each of the national governments along with regulatory authorities convene formally as well as informally to trade views. The national regulatory commission is comprised of the FCC and the public utility commission which has the ability to regulate on a state level. Additionally, in place are industry