Diplomacy and the invention of telephony and wireless communication – July 2014


Part of the Advanced Diplomatic Webinars series.

Diplomacy and the invention of telephony and wireless communicationThe telephone facilitated close contact among heads of state, including various ‘red lines’ for urgent communication. Wireless communication – mainly radio – was used by late arrivals to global telecom geo-politics (mainly Germany) to close the gap with established ‘cable powers’ (e.g. the United Kingdom).

Some diplomatic issues – security, privacy, neutrality – that were raised in the international policy surrounding telephony and wireless communication are still discussed today in the context of Internet governance.