Welcome to the first course in the Internet of Things specialization! We hope you’re just as excited as we are to begin this fascinating journey! Before getting started with the material, we would like to introduce you to the team that made this all possible, as well as give you a preview of what to expect throughout the entire specialization.

In order to answer the big question, “how did we get here?” we must start from the beginning. The beginning of what you may ask, well the beginning of telecommunication! In this course we will cover the birth of the telephone and its gradual evolution through different networks. Humans love to talk, which might explain the speedy growth of telephony networks.

Now that we have looked at circuit switched networks, we will begin to talk about packet switched networks. Digital networking will change in the telephone industry is what allowed all of the exciting new features we see on mobile phones. In this course, we will clarify differences between circuit and packet switched networks, as well as reveal what digital networking allows us to do.

The convergence begins! Computers and telephones start working together which served a great opportunity for business in many ways. Imagine a world without caller ID or voicemail, scary isn’t it? Telephony begins to take the digital route, which brings a whole new experience in telecommunications. The digitization of telephones wasn’t all positive, for it created the possibility of hackers accessing personal information.

Telephones eventually become a new entity which we might recognize as the cell phone. Phone mobility revolutionizes the telecommunications market, phones are no longer apply to homes but rather to people. Cell phones were a game changer for telephone companies.

Phone applications are born! This is probably the greatest contribution to the telephone industry because now phone don’t just make phone calls and take messages, but also handle finances, entertain, educate, control your home, turn on your car and anything you can imagine! The limits of a technology have never been more endless, if you can think it you can sure build an app for it.

Congratulations! You’ve made it to the last module in this course! At this point, you should know the history of the internet and many innovations that it has advanced with, but what is the Internet of Things anyway? That question and many more will be answered in this final course!