Electric telegraphy

Electric telegraphy is a point-to-point messaging service, orginally text-only but now able to transmit images. Messages are relayed between two broadcast offices, connected via cables.

History

The principles behind telegraphy originated in southern Xohura, where it was developed from a systems of dùndún (talking drums) which were used to communicate between towns and villages. The electric telegraph uses the an enormously simplified system of beats to relay messages. It was adopted for use by the early pioneers of the railway, where it was used for train control between signalboxes and avoid collisions.
Originally, telegraph cables were run on utility poles alongside the railway tracks, but the utility was quickly recognised and branch lines now spread out across the countryside and submarine cables, run across the bottom of the sea, allow for international communication.

Issues

Despite the rapid adoption, training a telegraph operator is timeconsuming and expensive. Accordingly, the service remains expensive and is primarily used for emergencies. Messages are charged by the letter, and a series of common codes have been developed to save users money.
Telegraph poles remain vulnerable to high winds, animal interference, and sabotage. Telegraph operators are reluctant to run wires to remote regions due to the cost of maintenance. This means that, outside of major cities and towns connected via rail, the last leg of a message's journey relies on traditional postal systems. This can lead to delays and, when commercial postal services are used, arguments about the additional cost of delivery.

Future

Wit the development of the telephone, the future of the telegraph seems uncertain. The character limitation of telegraphs have been a source of contention and creativity since the technology was introduced. Proponents of the new technology suggest that hearing a loved one's voice is preferebale to receiving a heavily-truncated telegram, but others point out the expense of the handset and of wiring each house to the telephone network, and the inconvenience of having to be at home to receive telephone calls.