Telegraph lines in Australia pre-date the telephone and were responsible for reducing the "tyranny of distance" Australia was linked to Europe and Asia by telegraph in 1871. This allowed more rapid communication with Britain.

The introduction of the telephone allowed a small group of people to communicate more directly.

The introduction, to Sydney, of public telephones in 1893, brought the telephone to the NSW masses.

The public telephone became a regular feature in post offices.

The telephone expanded in use in the early half of the 20' Century, with more private subscribers getting them. Greater communication was now available for these people.

By 1930 all of Australia was linked by telephone, reducing the time for cross continent communication.

The introduction of operator dialling in 1945, over trunk lines, allowed further access to people in other capital cities.

By 1953 there were 1 million subscribers to the telephone. This drastically improved the time for communication.

By 1962 Canberra, Sydney and Melbourne were linked by coaxial cable, which ensured more effective telephone communication. 

By 1976 Australian telephones were linked by submarine cables to the USA, Japan, and Singapore. This improved communication for Australian companies and people with interests abroad.

By the 1980s virtually every home had a telephone. This made communication rapid and instant compared with slower postal services.

The arrival of the Internet was helped by the humble telephone, as modems make use of existing telephone lines.

The mobile telephone revolutionised personal communication making a person contactable in most places in the developed world. Some people view this as a bad thing as they see the telephone intruding on their privacy. 

The mobile telephone initially created a sub-culture with new terms and symbols for communicating using text messages. This form of communication, is now embraced by the majority of people.

The Internet used the telephone system to allow the dissemination of all types of information across the globe.

The smartphone revolution takes off first with the Apple iPhone, which took PDA functionality, mixed it with mobile telephony and used a large full size touchscreen with software based keyboard.

The smartphone market has grown to two dominant platforms vying for market share and driving along developments which continually push the abilities of smartphones further and further.

The smartphone now allows communication using social media via data networks in addition to SMS and voice calls.

Marconi developed radio, but few realised the potential it had for the many facets of late 19th Century life.

Lloyds of London backed Marconi and his wireless as they saw it as a means to protect ships they had insured. This decision undoubtedly improved the safety of travel off the coast of Ireland where the first shipping radios were used.

The ability to tune the radio was a boon for shipping. Merchant vessels were able to transport goods more safely with the radio. 

The Royal Navy also embraced radio as a means for co-ordinating ships and movements.

The Titanic tragedy forced all ships to monitor radios 24 hours; this made life on the oceans safer for crews and passengers.

The establishment of radio stations for entertainment provided families with a new form of pleasure. Prior to the TV, families sat around radios to catch up on news and for pleasure as they listened to the serialised programs. These were called "soapies" as soap companies were the original sponsors.

The radio became a vital link for all people in the outback for communication and news.

Radio was vital to the safety of soldiers during WWII as it was used to communicate between units.

After WWII the radio was still the primary form of family entertainment and disseminator of news.

The radio provided lessons to isolated children, ensuring their educational needs were fulfilled.

People looked to television for their pleasure, hence severely affecting station viability.

Radio remodelled itself into a provider of news. Talk back radio allowed the "average person to put forward his/her views on various, sometimes contentious, topics. It gave people a feeling of empowerment.

The radio became important for drivers as a form of information and entertainment.

Radio stations tailored their music and news to suit a particular audience. This resulted in very parochial followings for radio stations far more than was the case with television.

The radio was an essential component in all aircraft, thus improving the safety of air travel.