PAKISTAN IS a country which has one foot on the digital age having 108 million mobile phones, 6.1 million fixed lines, Internet Broadband and IPTV and other foot on dark-age with insurgency and talibanization, a country which is pursuing IT policies on the foot prints of Alexander Graham Bell on one hand and on the other hand fighting against war of terror, against the dark ages when Alenxand the Great marched from Macedonia all along to come to this part of world.
Ironically the one who brought misery and disaster to humanity is remembered as Alexander the Great, but the one who facilitated the whole world with his amazing invention of telephone is rarely felicitated. He is rarely referred by a few telecom professionals on occasions like telecom day of 17th May.
Being a Telecom Engineer and a peace lover; let me tell you the story of the Real Great Alexander – Graham Bell. Alexander Graham Bell was born on March 3, 1847 Edinburgh, Scotland, UK. He belonged to a family of professionals who were teaching deaf and dumb, Graham Bell started with the same profession. He was an expert of vocal physiology.
On completion of his education he joined the University of Edinburgh (UE) and came across a very primitive instrument called “Telephone” by its maker Philiphs Reis, who was a teacher at UE. It was a combination of some wires, plywood boxes and a needle. It was such an incomplete arrangement that nobody ever give it a serious attention except Bell, who started believing that this can be the basis for his dream.
Bell worked day and night to invent some instruments, which could enable deaf and dumb to listen and speak. He, along with his assistant Thomas Watson was consistently working on the project. Meanwhile Habbord (his father-in-law) fully supported Bell though he was not optimistic about its success. At last, unexpectedly on 2nd June 1875 in the afternoon, while tired of the experiment on the instruments placed at the two different rooms connected through wires, Bell listen Watson’s feeble voice through the instrument that was in the other room.
With further improvement in transmission and receiving side in January 1876, the experiment was complete and voice was clearer. “Mr. Watson, come here, I need you” were the few words spoken. After a minute Watson was there and full of enthusiasm said “I have heard your message, I have heard, this is working now”.
One can understand how difficult it would have been to patent, popularize and commercialize this primitive telephone system. Till 1880 this invention reached almost every major country of the world. Bell had lost interest in the commercial side of his invention and was living with his wife at his farm house where he worked to find out such sheep who could give birth to two lambs.
Though in his last days, he avoided crowds, however, in 1915 when the line between New York and San Francisco with a length of 3,400 miles was completed, Bell was requested for inaugural ceremony. He insisted that his friend Watson should be at other end of the line. Watson’s journey to San Francisco was arranged. At the time of inauguration, Bell smilingly repeated the historical words “Mr. Watson, come here, I need you”. Watson laughed loudly and said “Sir, thanks for invitation, but this time it will take me one week instead of one minute”.
The writer is the Managing Director of Telecom Foundation.
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