Urgent Communications history

Wireless telegraphy was a theory explored by inventors for many decades, and around 1880, David Edward Hughes succeeded in sending the first intentional radio signal by electromagnetic waves.

Television stations began to appear in the United States in the late 1920s.

Congress even went so far as to halt all amateur radio operations during World War I. After this war ended, though, operators began experimenting with the hobby once again, striving to make contact between the United States and the U.K. The first transatlantic two-way contact occurred in 1923.

The first electronic television was invented in the year 1927 by Philo Taylor Farnsworth.

In 1963, television officially surpassed newspapers as the most popular source of information. It wasn't until 1954 that color television sets began being sold in the United States.

In 1963, television officially surpassed newspapers as the most popular source of information.

For the first time since the creation of the civilian agency in 1971, the division became uniformed.

The first cell phone was created in 1983, and it cost around $4,000.

In 1990, HTML was developed, which set the stage for the World Wide Web.

The following history was compiled and shared by Bonnie Hoskin, who retired from the city of Richmond with 30 years of service in 2002.

The Department of Emergency Communications began accepting text messages for 911 emergencies in December, but it was not announced until June 2018 to allow time for the surrounding counties to establish the service.