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The idea of wireless communication predates the discovery of "radio" with experiments in "wireless telegraphy" via transmission through the ground, water, and even train tracks from the 1830s on.
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James Clerk Maxwell showed in theoretical and mathematical form in 1864 that electromagnetic waves could propagate through free space.
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In 1888 Heinrich Rudolf Hertz was able to conclusively prove transmitted airborne electromagnetic waves in an experiment confirming Maxwell's theory of electromagnetism.
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Over several years starting in 1894 the Italian inventor Guglielmo Marconi built the first complete, commercially successful wireless telegraphy system based on airborne Hertzian waves (radio transmission).
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In 1900, Brazilian priest Roberto Landell de Moura transmitted the human voice wirelessly for a distance of approximately a half mile.
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In June 1912 Marconi opened the world's first purpose-built radio factory at New Street Works in Chelmsford, England.
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The first radio news program was broadcast August 31, 1920 by station 8MK in Detroit, Michigan, which survives today as all-news format station WWJ under ownership of the CBS network.
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In the early 1930s, single sideband and frequency modulation were invented by amateur radio operators.
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In 1947 AT&T commercialized the Mobile Telephone Service.
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In 1954 Regency introduced a pocket transistor radio, the TR-1, powered by a "standard 22.5V Battery".
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In the early 1960s, VOR systems finally became widespread for aircraft navigation; before that, aircraft used commercial AM radio stations for navigation. (AM stations are still marked on U.S. aviation charts).
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The Advanced Mobile Phone System analog mobile cell phone system, developed by Bell Labs, was introduced in the Americas in 1978,[44][45][46] gave much more capacity.
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culminating in the launch of the Global Positioning System (GPS) constellation in 1987.
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The first Internet concert was broadcast on June 24, 1993 by the band Severe Tire Damage.
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From 2000 onwards, most Internet Radio Stations increased their stream quality as bandwidth became more economical.
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On January 31, 2016, webcasters who are governed by rules adopted by the Copyright Royalty Board were required to pay to SoundExchange an annual, nonrefundable minimum fee of $500 for each channel and station.[
