The modernization of telecommunications
Another point to highlight is the technological progress of telecommunications. They transmit symbols, characters, texts, images and sounds. They use wires, metallic cables, fiber optic cables, radio waves, digital media and others.
Recent advances show an increasing capacity to transmit large amounts of information over a long distance by modern means are called telematic flows.
Until the first decades of the twentieth century, communication systems reached the national territory in a partial and precarious way, with late adoption of innovations. In colonial Brazil, the circulation of correspondence was irregular and reduced, subject to transport at the time. A letter could take months to reach Europe. Only in 1829 was a general public administration of the post office organized.
In the second half of the 19th century, there were advances in transport and communications. The first railroad was built by Barão de Mauá in 1854, in Rio de Janeiro. Later, new railroads connected the interior with the coastal cities. In 1922, there were about 30 thousand kilometers of railroads. The telegraph was introduced in 1852, expanding with railways and submarine cables.
According to Relationshipsplus, the first telephone line was installed in the imperial palace, in Rio de Janeiro, a few months after the demonstration of the device by its inventor, Grahan Bell, in 1876. In 1914, 40 thousand devices worked in the country.
After the Second World War, Brazil experienced an unprecedented surge in modernization, with advances in communications, transport and the production of goods. Brazil has practically transformed itself into another country.
These are striking features of that time: urbanization, industrialization, construction of hydroelectric plants and highways. There was the modernization of agriculture and an intense rural-city migratory flow. Universities and technological research centers were expanded.
The main milestone in the advance in telecommunications in Brazil occurred between the late 1960s and the 1970s. A system was created that covered practically the entire territory with a huge communications network: microwaves (tropodiffusion), satellites and submarine cables of telex. It was at this time that the state-owned telecommunications company, Embratel, which is now privatized, was born. In the mid-1970s, two thousand locations were served by telex.
Large-scale satellite operations began. In the 1980s, with the Brasilsat 2 satellite, the area covered by national television networks was considerably expanded.
Two important telecommunications systems deserve to be highlighted: TV, due to its degree of coverage and influence throughout the national territory, and the internet, due to the extreme speed with which it was broadcast in the country and the virtually unlimited possibilities of interaction with other media and information
“I saw a Brazil on TV”: the expansion of television networks in Brazil
Television is the most widespread means of communication in Brazil, along with radio. Research by the Ipsos-Marplan institute in 2001, in nine metropolitan regions, reveals that 97% of the population over 10 years of age watched TV at least once a week that year. TV is in practically every home in the country, regardless of region, education or income range.
This shows its strength and suggests further analysis of its implications for national life.
TV broadcasts have existed in other countries since the 1930s. For example, the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) in London, the British public broadcaster, went on the air in 1936, with two hours of daily programming. But TV arrived in Brazil only in 1950. In more than 50 years of history, there have been many technological advances that have allowed its diffusion and a strong influence on people’s lives.
We see a certain Brazil on TV, which does not always reflect the country’s social and cultural diversity. In the last few years, with the support of research and studies, TV began to be put in check. A more enlightened society demands the democratization of TV and greater “quality control” of programming. The perception that broadcasters are public concessions has gained strength and that, for this reason, they need quality programming, focused not only on entertainment, but also on education and culture.
TV in Brazil: fifty years of history
Brazilian television was officially inaugurated in 1950, with the first broadcast of TV Tupi Difusora in São Paulo. It emerged at a time when radio was the most popular communication vehicle in the country, reaching practically all states. North American TV rose under the strong influence of the film industry. In Brazil, this medium was initially supported by radio, taking advantage of technicians, artists and programming formats, such as the auditorium programs.
Technically, TV came up with research on converting electrical signals into images. The first transmission took place in 1926, using a telephone cable that connected the cities of London and Glasgow, 700 km apart. At that time, monitors were made of cathode ray tubes. In them, electron streams were irradiated and a layer of the chemical element phosphorus glowed with different colors.
Shortly after the second war, TV was already a reality in Europe. In 1947, there were 34,000 devices in the UK: in 1953 there were already 2.5 million. Over time, the monitors got better and better, with greater temperature stability or increased color purity. New models and brands of devices appear, with different screen sizes.
Brazilian TV was born with local and regional broadcasters, and remained so for a decade. The generation of images was basically municipal, which gradually expanded. In the mid-1950s, the expansion surpassed the cities of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, encompassing the capitals of several states. Each city broadcast a different program.
