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This collection of notes is part of [1].
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modern_history#Modern_Age_Timeline
From this point on 'globalization' has progressed to the extent that knowledge of techological developments (even if not the manufacturing and/or infrastructural capability to utilize them) tend to not be contained to one region or civilization, but rather to rapidly spread over the entire world. (speculation: will we see more such 'spatial collapses'/non-injective homomorphisms due to globalization in the future? Perhaps a collapse of regions that speak the same language and have roughly similar political and economic systems?)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_power_industry
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telegraphy#Cooke_and_Wheatstone_system Commerical use around ~1840
Semaphores (optical telegraphy) "were able to convey information more precisely than smoke signals and beacons and consumed no fuel. Messages could be sent at much greater speed than post riders and could serve entire regions. However, like beacons, smoke and reflected light signals, they were highly dependent on good weather and daylight to work (practical electrical lighting was not available until about 1880). They required operators and towers every 30 km (20 mi)[citation needed] and could accommodate only about two words per minute. This was useful to governments, but too expensive for most commercial uses other than commodity price information. Electric telegraphs were to reduce the cost of sending a message thirtyfold compared to semaphores and could be used non-stop, 24 hours per day, independent of the weather or daylight." -- [2]
" So, what is the most realistic method of high-speed communication ((in 1946))? A Telex/Teletype (see Teletype Corporation). This was a semi-automated telegraphy system, which used telephone and/or telegraph cables to transmit text. Think of it as a very crude form of SMS -- you went to your Telex machine, dialed the number of the remote machine, and as you typed the message your machine it would print out on the remote machine. Both military and civilian organizations also used Radioteletype (RTTY) machines for wireless long-distance communication. An interesting aside is that the German Army was completely managed via radioteletype. Messages were encoded using Enigma machines before being sent via RTTY. Radioteletype transmissions are relatively easy to intercept, and it is those very coded intercepts that which were broken by Alan Turing at Bletchley Park.
In 1946, the teletype service would have been done using dedicated equipment, provided by either the military or Western Union. Telex was the ubiquitous method of inexpensive long-distance communication well into the 1980s, and was only replaced by fax in the 1990s. ... Early computers had nothing like the fancy displays we had now, in fact they had no displays at all. Instead you used a terminal to send data to the computer and receive data back. Turns out that Teletype machines made inexpensive terminals, so that's what you used " -- https://www.quora.com/History/Would-it-have-been-possible-to-make-a-phone-call-from-Germany-to-the-United-States-in-1946?share=1
"Studies have shown that the invention and development of the railway in Europe was one of the most important technological inventions of the late 19th century for the United States, without which, GDP would have been lower by 7.0% in 1890." -- [3]
Intercity steam railroads ~1830 [4] [5]
aftermath: "Following the large-scale construction of motorways after the war, rail transport became less popular for commuting and air transport started taking large market shares from long-haul passenger trains. Most tramways were either replaced by rapid transit or buses, while high transshipment costs caused short-haul freight trains to become uncompetitive. The 1973 oil crisis led to a change of mind set and most tram systems that had survived into the 1970s remain today. At the same time, containerization allowed freight trains to become more competitive and participate in intermodal freight transport. With the 1964 introduction of the Shinkansen high-speed rail in Japan, trains could again have a dominant position on intercity travel. During the 1970s, the introduction of automated rapid transit systems allowed cheaper operation. The 1990s saw an increased focus on accessibility and low-floor trains. Many tramways have been upgraded to light rail and many cities that closed their old tramways have reopened new light railway systems." -- [6]
" The first successful transatlantic telephone cable was not laid until 1956 (see TAT-1)...Even in 1956, the process of setting up a transatlantic call might take several hours. You would call your local operator, who would transfer you to a "Traffic Operator". That operator would in turn call the transatlantic operator, and get in line for a circuit. You would hang up but wait by the phone. At the other end of the line, the person you wanted to talk to would do the same thing.
At some point, maybe 2 to 24 hours later, a circuit would free up, and the Traffic Operator at both ends would call the two endpoints. You would answer the phone (because you had been standing by), the person at the other end would do the same, and the two operators would connect you.
...
the first cable had 36 phone circuits. That means that at any given time, a maximum of 36 simultaneous transatlantic calls could be made. Hence the wait for a free circuit. This continued for quite a while, I have a friend who moved to Canada from England in 1968 and she confirmed it was still working as described above until the early 1970s.
Now, what about radio?
Transatlantic voice radio calls were practical from about 1927 onward, and during WW2 this was expanded to include encrypted calls....in 1946 this service would have been available for military use only...Even in 1954, there were 12 transatlantic radio channels. Twelve!
...amateur (ham) radio... ham radio was shut down during the war....almost all ham radio ((in 1946)) was morse code, not voice. ... I do have fairly extensive personal experience with a lot of this. Until about 1980, telephone communication through the Canadian arctic was done via radio. Trust me when I tell you that the quality of these calls was very, very poor. If the "atmospherics" were bad, calls were impossible. We could go days at a time without being able to place or receive calls. Finally, just like with a CB radio or walkie-talkies, you could only talk in one direction at a time. " -- https://www.quora.com/History/Would-it-have-been-possible-to-make-a-phone-call-from-Germany-to-the-United-States-in-1946
