Celebrating wireline's innovators

Samantha Bookman, FierceTelecom

Last month, we ran a daily quiz on Twitter asking odd telecom-related questions like "What did vacuum tube repeaters enable on the telephone network?" As I said, there was a method to our madness. If any of those questions stumped you (or even if they didn't), look for the answer in our latest special feature on innovators who made a lasting impact on wireline telecom.

In detailing the communications achievements of the past 135-plus years, it can be tough to narrow down the contributions of many to just a few key individuals. That was the challenge of FierceTelecom's first wireline innovators feature. This year we profile 19 inventors and researchers who made significant and lasting contributions to the wireline telecommunications industry.

Many of these inventions we now take for granted. Some had far-reaching effects beyond their original development. A few creations you may never have heard of, but they laid important groundwork for the move into the electronics age.

Take a few minutes today to check out our profiles of 19 people who changed the face of the wireline telecom industry.--Sam