Hedy Lamarr and Frequency Hopping

There are many great stories in telecommunications but Hedy Lamarr's is my favorite. She is truly a hero in modern day telecom.


Many of the wireless technologies used today for security and bandwidth efficiency can be traced back to an invention Hedy Lamarr patented during World War II. If you are using Bluetooth, a WiFi hotspot, a cordless phone, a mobile phone on the Verizon network, a wireless mouse, keyboard, printer or fax, than you are using this technology.

Despite leaving school at 16 she was a brilliant mathematician and innovator, but her beauty and talent lead her to a career as a film actress. She was from Austria and married young to an overbearing arms manufacturer. Upset by her scandalous films he would keep his young bride close to him at technological meetings and parties he hosted which included guests such as Hitler and Mussolini. It was here that she picked up many of her technical skills but the Jewish actress had a lot of distaste for her husband and his friends.


As legend has it, one night she drugged her husband, disguised herself as a maid and escaped to Paris for a divorce. Eventually she made her way to London and was discovered by Louis B. Mayer and the rest is film history. But we are here to discuss telecommunications history.


During World War II, Hedy wanted to funnel her hatred of Hitler to more than selling war bonds. From her husband's meetings she knew that radio guided torpedoes and missiles were easily jammed by the enemy. Working with composer George Antheil they developed a method of changing frequencies so sender and receiver both knew what frequency the message is broadcast at.


It works like this. Imagine you are in a car listening to a radio broadcast that is meant just for you. The DJ is going to broadcast portions of the program on one frequency, then on another, then on another. Only you and the DJ know the frequency sequence. As you listen you change the frequency on the dial of your radio in the order the DJ told you and you get all the messages sent. Anyone else listening will hear a portion of the message but will have no idea where to change their dial to receive the remaining messages. It would make no sense to them. This is termed "frequency hopping" in telecommunications.


In 1942 Hedy and George Antheil were granted patent number 2,292,387 for their "Secret Communication System". Sadly the idea was so far ahead of it's time that the patent ran out before Hedy or George Antheil's revolutionary idea was put to use. In the late 1950's government contractors researching old patents stumbled upon the Secret Communication System. With the technology of the time they used this information for torpedo guidance systems and other "spread spectrum" communications. Later frequency hopping was no longer a government secret and was utilized for wireless telecommunication systems in several different forms. With the patent expired Hedy and Antheil never made a dime on their invention. In 1997 Hedy was finally recognized for her contribution and won the EFF Pioneer award for her innovative technique. She passed away three years later.

Newton's Telecom Dictionary - a must have

On the internet you can find hundreds of testimonials touting the benefits of the Newton's Telecom Dictionary. I am no exception to its praises and thought I might as well throw my hat in the ring.


Robert Newton first published his dictionary in 1984. Each year he comes out with a new edition with the exception of 2010. This just makes me even more anxious for 2011 knowing that the 26th edition will soon be on the shelves. Count me in.


Robert Newton is a hero to me. His dictionary is a brilliant balance between explaining complex subjects in easy to understand terms and tackling highly complex concepts in terms for those who understand the upper echelon of our industry's terminology. However he is not beyond throwing in a humorous quip or two to keep things light hearted. The format is in dictionary form and it is easy to quickly find the subject you are looking for.


I was first introduced to Newton's Telecom Dictionary in 1996. It was in its 12th edition and was around 900 pages. I upgraded in 2006 to the 22nd edition which was around 1200 pages. The 25th edition is around 1300 pages and contains 25,000 definitions. It is updated daily by a team of editors. This is testament to the incredible growth of the Telecommunications Industry over the past few years.


His dictionary has been by my side through thick and thin. Always there for me like an old friend ready to guide me when someone throws out a new term, cryptic acronym or long forgotten technology. I highly recommend this book for anyone, no matter what their experience or position, involved in the Telecom Industry. It has always come in handy for me.

Telecommunications, the industry and the future

With a blog that attempts to explain Telecommunication concepts the most logical place to begin is with the word itself, the industry surrounding it and where we are going with this wondrous business.

Like most words Telecommunications is best understood by breaking down the word to its most basic etymological level. Tele comes from the Greek word têle meaning "far". Communicate comes from the Latin word commūnicātus meaning "to make common". Telecommunications is simply put as the exchange of information at a distance. Telephone, telegraph, telemetry, television are all forms of telecommunications.

Telecommunications in the 21st century is an all encompassing term. The "tele" part is simple, it means distance, but the "communications" portion is harder since information can take on so many various forms.

The lines of definition become even more blurred when you add the business term "industry" after the word "telecommunications". Industry comes from the Latin word "industrie" which is the noun form of industrius meaning "diligent". There are eight different meanings of the word industry in the dictionary which does not help us pin down the term with very much clarity. The one thing we can all agree upon is that we are truly an industrious and diligent group.

The best definition of the Telecommunications Industry can be found on www.investopedia. com. "Think of telecommunications as the world's biggest machine. Strung together by complex networks, telephones, mobile phones and internet-linked PCs, the global system touches nearly all of us. It allows us to speak, share thoughts and do business with nearly anyone, regardless of where in the world they might be. Telecom operating companies make all this happen."

So where do we go from here?

In 1990 I was working for AT&T when they presented a video to us on the future of our industry. It showed global videoconferences, people using small wireless telephones to input data to help organize their lives and people in swimsuits on the beach conducting business on computer tablets as if they were in the office. Our mouths dropped to the floor in amazement and it seemed like science fiction. 20 years of hindsight makes me even more amazed at how prophetic this video was.

Telecommunications technology is like an out of control locomotive. 4G wireless will quickly become LTE Advanced. E911 will quickly become NG911. Voice and data will continue to converge at unprecedented levels. Deregulation and global competition are paramount to this growth.

Consequently the key to make this all happen is bandwidth. Though all the hype in the industry today is wireless, our need for more bandwidth seems insatiable. The "build it and they will come" technological mentality is inevitable, just make sure we have the bandwidth to handle it.

To me the future in telecommunications will continue to blur the lines that divide reality from virtual reality. I envision immediate two way, 3D, wireless holographic communications much like they have in the Star Wars movies. Can we make this science fiction happen in 20 years time? I say "why not".