Lennätinverkot

Lennätinverkot, often translated as telegraph networks, were a critical communication infrastructure that revolutionized long-distance messaging. These networks utilized telegraphy, a technology that transmitted electrical signals over wires to convey information. The invention of the electric telegraph in the early 19th century, with significant contributions from Samuel Morse, paved the way for the establishment of these extensive systems. Early telegraph lines were typically strung on poles, creating a physical network connecting cities, towns, and eventually continents. The most famous example of a transcontinental telegraph network was the one established across North America, drastically reducing the time it took to send messages from days or weeks to mere minutes. The operation of lennätinverkot involved trained operators who would send and receive messages using Morse code or similar alphabets. The development of submarine telegraph cables in the latter half of the 19th century further expanded the reach of these networks, enabling transoceanic communication. These networks were foundational to modern telecommunications and played a vital role in commerce, journalism, government, and military operations for many decades before the advent of more advanced technologies like the telephone and the internet.