{"id":28209,"date":"2024-07-09T13:49:45","date_gmt":"2024-07-09T13:49:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.otegroupmuseum.gr\/?page_id=28209"},"modified":"2025-12-23T14:37:49","modified_gmt":"2025-12-23T14:37:49","slug":"from-the-network-to-the-internet","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.otegroupmuseum.gr\/en\/discover\/permanent-exhibition\/from-the-network-to-the-internet\/","title":{"rendered":"From the network to the Internet"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Homepage<\/a><\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n \"internet\n \"internet\n
Global telecommunication network map \/ Cable and Wireless telegram, 1932<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
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From the network to the Internet<\/h1>\n
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A global network is born<\/h2>\n <\/div>\n
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Globalisation<\/strong> became a reality in the 19th<\/sup> century<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The industrial revolution created new means of connection and communication: the steamship, the railway, telegraphy & telephony<\/strong>. In 1903, the entire Earth was transformed into a network<\/strong> through the telegraphic connection of the five continents.<\/p>\n

This global network<\/strong> had a hub: London<\/strong>. Great Britain owned 70% of the undersea cables<\/strong>, while 24 of the 30 cable vessels that existed at that time were British. The reasons for this domination were the needs of the British Empire<\/strong> to control and communicate with its territories and colonies in India, Australia, Africa, and Canada.<\/p>\n

The total length of undersea cables required for this technological breakthrough exceeded 406 thousand kilometres<\/strong>, covering a distance greater than that separating the Earth from the Moon<\/strong>.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n Back to Permanent Exhibition<\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n \n \n

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\n \"\u0397\n \"\u0397\n
Graham Bell demonstrates his invention to Queen Victoria of Great Britain , 1878<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
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From the network to the Internet<\/h1>\n
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The age of empires<\/h2>\n <\/div>\n
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The first telecommunication networks<\/strong> consolidated the global dominance of the great European powers<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

In a 1901 article titled \u2018The Influence of Undersea Cables on Military and Naval Supremacy\u2019, a member of the American military warned of British control of 4\/5 of the global cables which were \u201cwoven like a spider\u2019s web\u201d<\/strong> in which all other nations were caught.<\/p>\n

The second half of the 19th<\/sup> century<\/strong> was the era of colonialism<\/strong>. Telecommunications not only contributed to European expansion and colonial control but were also developing rapidly due to competition<\/strong> between the major European countries.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n Back to Permanent Exhibition<\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n \n \n

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\n \"\u03a4\u03b7\u03bb\u03ad\u03c6\u03c9\u03bd\u03bf\n \"\u03a4\u03b7\u03bb\u03ad\u03c6\u03c9\u03bd\u03bf\n
Melina Mercouri on the cover ot Tachydromos magazine, 1964<\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
\n \"1.\n \"1.\n \n <\/div>\n \n
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\n 3\/10<\/span>\n

From the network to the Internet<\/h1>\n
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Telephone and advertising<\/h2>\n <\/div>\n
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Advertising<\/strong> for telephony<\/strong> started in America in an organised fashion in the late 19th<\/sup> - early 20th<\/sup> centuries<\/strong> and highlighted the issue of time<\/strong> compared to the other means of communication. An advertisement from Bell Telephone Co.<\/strong> reads: \u201cThe post office<\/strong> is fast, the telegraph<\/strong> is faster, but the telephone<\/strong> is instantaneous\u201d.<\/p>\n

In the 1930s<\/strong>, phone companies acknowledged that advertising had to focus on highlighting interpersonal relationships<\/strong> and social life<\/strong>. The telephone is no longer a luxury or a useful tool for a business, it is a social necessity: \u201cYou are your voice.\u201d The phone is portrayed as an extension of being sociable<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

In Greece<\/strong>, the first telephone advertisements came with the founding of AETE<\/strong> in the 1930s<\/strong>. The telephone had very low penetration in the Greek market and that is why its importance for businesses<\/strong> and housewives<\/strong> was underlined. Happy women were depicted talking on earpieces: \u201cWith their telephone, they have the doctor, the pharmacist, the grocery store, the fire department, and everything else they need near them at all times.\u201d<\/p>\n

The prevailing slogan was: \u201cThe telephone is necessary.<\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\n <\/div>\n Back to Permanent Exhibition<\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n \n \n

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\n \"\u0391\u03bb\u03bb\u03b1\u03b3\u03ad\u03c2\n \"\u0391\u03bb\u03bb\u03b1\u03b3\u03ad\u03c2\n
American reporter and suffragist Genevieve Clark Thomson talks on the telephone, 1912<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
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From the network to the Internet<\/h1>\n
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Changes in daily life & sociability<\/h2>\n <\/div>\n
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Telecommunications<\/strong> transformed social relationships<\/strong> and affected the most personal aspects of human communication.<\/p>\n

Although realisation of the social importance of telephony took time, starting in the 1920s and 1930s<\/strong> the telephone<\/strong> became the main means of communication<\/strong> for friends, families and partners.<\/p>\n

Women in particular played an important role in the spread of the telephone. In 1914, a photograph was published in an issue of Literary Digest<\/strong> depicting a woman with a telephone tied to her head, so that she could speak while sitting at her typewriter. The promotion of talking on the telephone for long periods of time as something women were prone to do, reflects stereotypes about women\u2019s \u201cnatural\u201d tendencies, while in reality it highlights their active role in creating interpersonal networks.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n Back to Permanent Exhibition<\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n \n \n

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Textile industrialist Papadopoulos at his desk, beginning of the 20th century.<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
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From the network to the Internet<\/h1>\n
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Economic growth<\/h2>\n <\/div>\n
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The world of business, trade & the stock exchange<\/strong> was connected to the telecommunications network<\/strong> from the very beginning. In the 19th century<\/strong>, 90% of telegrams<\/strong> concerned business affairs.<\/p>\n

Telecommunications connected remote markets, allowed entrepreneurs to make multiple transactions in a day, and put merchants in direct contact with producers.<\/p>\n

In some countries, such as the USA and Great Britain, the telegraph and telephony were developed thanks to private entrepreneurial activity, such as that Graham Bell\u2019s Bell Company, in contrast to other countries where telephony<\/strong> and telegraphy<\/strong> were launched by the state in the form of a monopoly.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n Back to Permanent Exhibition<\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n \n \n

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\n \"\u03a0\u03cc\u03bb\u03b5\u03bc\u03bf\u03c2\n \"\u03a0\u03cc\u03bb\u03b5\u03bc\u03bf\u03c2\n \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
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From the network to the Internet<\/h1>\n
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War & Telecommunications<\/h2>\n <\/div>\n
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War has always been a factor in the evolution of telecommunications. During the era of industrial warfare<\/strong>, the need for faster and safer communication with the front, led technology to the invention of advanced methods of conveying messages<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

During World War II,<\/strong> wireless communication<\/strong> advanced by leaps and bounds. The wireless receiver <\/strong>became an integral part of battle.<\/p>\n

The end of WWII found Greece\u2019s telecommunication system in ruins. 80% of the telegraph network<\/strong> had been destroyed, while almost all the telephone exchanges in Athens had been rendered useless. Of the 32,643 subscribers<\/strong> in Athens in October 1944<\/strong>, only 6,000 subscribers<\/strong> were left in January 1945<\/strong>.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n Back to Permanent Exhibition<\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n \n \n

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Telex operator desk, 1970<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
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From the network to the Internet<\/h1>\n
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A female affair<\/h2>\n <\/div>\n
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With the founding of OTE in 1949<\/strong>, women took on new roles in telecommunications. In 1957<\/strong> they started working as operators<\/strong> in the new Telex service<\/strong>. With this service, subscribers were connected to the OTE network and could conduct direct telegraphic message exchanges with each other.<\/p>\n

In 1964, they took up posts at the OTE Computerisation Centre<\/strong>, providing computerisation services using computation machines.<\/p>\n

In the 1970s<\/strong>, telephone operators went on strike for the first time, demanding equal pay between the two genders<\/strong>. Women in telecommunications were symbolically placed on the front line of the fight for women\u2019s liberation.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n Back to Permanent Exhibition<\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n \n \n

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A telephone and TV in one device<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
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From the network to the Internet<\/h1>\n
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Videophone<\/h2>\n <\/div>\n
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The videophone<\/strong> was first presented at the 1964 New York World Fair<\/strong> by AT&T. An innovation of the era, it allowed people speaking to someone to be able to see them at the same time.<\/p>\n

The Japanese-made NEC videophone was manufactured in 1970 and operated by OTE experimentally.<\/p>\n

It had an integrated monitor, TV, and camera. In combination with a simple telephone device, it made it possible to make video calls<\/strong> and video conference calls<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The videophone was introduced to the market in 1994<\/strong>. It was not commercially appealing, as it was quite expensive (it cost 800,000 drachmas), and it quickly took a back seat due to the spread of computers and the internet.<\/p>\n

According to Peter Nash, head of British Telecom, \u201cIf the invention of the telephone was a milestone for human communication, the videophone is the pathway to the global village (1986)<\/p>\n <\/div>\n Back to Permanent Exhibition<\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n \n \n

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From the network to the Internet<\/h1>\n
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The internet<\/h2>\n <\/div>\n
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The Advanced Research Project Agency (ARPA) was founded in the USA in 1958. During the Cold War, scientists looked into how telecommunications could survive ballistic missiles.<\/p>\n

In 1969<\/strong>, Vint Cerf, Stephen Crocker and Robert Kahn designed ARPAnet on a paper napkin<\/strong>; this was a decentralised computer network<\/strong> that connected four US universities.<\/p>\n

In 1971<\/strong>, Ray Tomlinson used the @<\/strong> symbol to send the first e-mail<\/strong>. There were 23 computers connected to ARPAnet at the time.<\/p>\n

On 6 August 1991<\/strong>, the World Wide Web<\/strong> was made available to the public by the CERN<\/strong> international research centre.<\/p>\n

In 2004<\/strong> we went from one-way communication to the interactive experience<\/strong> and social networking. Social media<\/strong> and web communities<\/strong> (wikis, video sharing, etc.) were created with Web 2.0<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

ISDN<\/strong> (Integrated Services Digital Network) was piloted <\/strong>in Greece in 1994<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

In 1996<\/strong>, OTENET<\/strong> started operating.<\/p>\n

In 2016<\/strong>, the internet\u2019s penetration in Greece\u2019s<\/strong> urban and semi-urban centres reached 90%.<\/p>\n

In 2024, 5.1 billion users<\/strong> communicate on the internet<\/strong>.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n Back to Permanent Exhibition<\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n \n \n

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\n \"To\n \"To\n \n <\/div>\n \n
\n \"1.Arcade\n \"1.Arcade\n
\r\nArcade box, 1980<\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
\n \"2.Pac\n \"2.Pac\n
\r\nPac-Man. Japan, 1980<\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
\n \"3.SONY\n \"3.SONY\n
\r\nSONY Playstation 1,1994<\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
\n \"4.Microsoft\n \"4.Microsoft\n
\r\nMicrosoft XBOX, 2001<\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
\n \"5.\u0392\u03b9\u03bd\u03c4\u03b5\u03bf\u03c0\u03b1\u03b9\u03c7\u03bd\u03af\u03b4\u03b9\u03b1\n \"5.\u0392\u03b9\u03bd\u03c4\u03b5\u03bf\u03c0\u03b1\u03b9\u03c7\u03bd\u03af\u03b4\u03b9\u03b1\n
\r\nVideo games for 6th generation console, 2001-2003<\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
\n \"6.SONY\n \"6.SONY\n
\r\nSONY Playstation 5, 2020<\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
\n \"7.\u03a3\u03b5\u03c4\n \"7.\u03a3\u03b5\u03c4\n
\r\nVR headset for Playstation 5, 2023<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
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\n \"5.\u0392\u03b9\u03bd\u03c4\u03b5\u03bf\u03c0\u03b1\u03b9\u03c7\u03bd\u03af\u03b4\u03b9\u03b1\n <\/div>\n \n
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\n 10\/10<\/span>\n

From the network to the Internet<\/h1>\n
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Gaming<\/h2>\n <\/div>\n
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The spread of the internet<\/strong> was a great boost to video game<\/strong> development. Video games are an extremely interactive<\/strong> medium that transfer players to virtual reality environments<\/strong> where digital identities are created<\/strong>. Video games are like an autonomous universe with its own rules, morals, culture, tribes, and members.<\/p>\n

The history of gaming<\/strong> dates back to the 1950s<\/strong> and 1960s<\/strong>, when engineers started creating simple games and simulations as part of their research to see how far computer capabilities could go.<\/p>\n

From arcade games<\/strong> in the 80s<\/strong> and gaming platforms in the 90s<\/strong>, to the online multiplayer games<\/strong> of the early 21st<\/sup> century<\/strong>, gaming has now taken on a key role in socialising and networking<\/strong> for young people.<\/p>\n

In 2025<\/strong>, revenues from the global video game market<\/strong> are estimated to have reached $197 billion<\/strong>, six times<\/strong> more than the music and film industries.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In the same year, there were an estimated 3.6 billion active gamers worldwide,<\/strong> while in Greece approximately 2.3 million users<\/strong> play video games.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n Back to Permanent Exhibition<\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n \n <\/div>\n\n \n \n