KB: x509/ITU/OpenSSL

From Morse Code to OSI: How Modern Networking Standards Came to Be

When we talk about modern networking—things like OSI layers, digital certificates, and global interoperability—it’s easy to forget that the roots of all this go back to the mid-1800s, long before computers existed.

This post summarizes how communication evolved from Morse code to the OSI model, and why the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) was formed in the first place.

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The Original Problem (1800s): Communication Didn’t Cross Borders Cleanly

In the early days of telegraphy, countries built their own systems independently. Even though electrical signals could travel over wires, there were major issues:

• Different versions of Morse code

• Different electrical characteristics (voltage, timing, polarity)

• Different operating procedures

• Different administrative and billing rules

As a result, messages often broke down at national borders. A signal sent in one country might not be correctly interpreted—or even received—in another.

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Why the ITU Was Formed (1865)

To solve this, countries came together in 1865 to form what was then called the International Telegraph Union (today’s ITU).

The goal was not to invent new technology, but to standardize interoperability, including:

• How signals should be interpreted

• How telegraph systems interconnect

• How messages begin, end, repeat, or handle errors

• How international communication is billed and governed

Morse code was part of the environment, but the real issue was system-to-system compatibility, not just the code itself.

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Evolution of Communication Technology

1. Morse Telegraph (1830s–1860s)

• Human-encoded symbols (dots and dashes)

• Electrical pulses over wires

• Humans decoded messages

• No automation, no data structures

2. Telephone (late 1800s)

• Human voice as analog electrical signals

• Dedicated circuits

• ITU standards shifted toward voice quality, signaling, and call setup

3. Modems (1950s–1990s)

• Digital data converted into tones

• Computers could communicate over analog phone lines

• ITU standardized modem protocols (V-series)

• Still no universal networking model

4. OSI Model (1970s–1980s)

• A conceptual framework, not a protocol

• Introduced layered thinking (physical → application)

• Helped engineers reason about complex networks

• Described computer networking in a structured way

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Important Clarification: OSI vs Early Telegraphy

Early telegraph systems did not use anything like the OSI model.

• Telegraphy was human-interpreted signaling

• OSI describes machine-to-machine networking

• OSI came over a century later

What did carry forward was the idea of standardization, pioneered by the ITU.

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Where the “X” Standards Fit In

Later ITU standards like X.500 and X.509 belong to the X-Series, which simply labels data networking and open systems recommendations.

The letter “X” does not stand for “exchange” or “communication”—it’s just a category label used by ITU-T.

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The Big Picture Takeaway

Communication technology evolved like this:

Morse      → meaning standardized
Telephone  → signals standardized
Modems     → data standardized
OSI        → thinking standardized

1830s–1860s        1876–1900s        1950s–1990s        1980s
┌────────────┐    ┌────────────┐    ┌────────────┐    ┌────────────┐
│ Morse Code │ →  │ Telephone  │ →  │   Modems   │ →  │   OSI      │
│ Telegraph  │    │ (Analog)   │    │ (Digital   │    │  Model     │
│            │    │            │    │ over Analog│    │ (Concept)  │
└────────────┘    └────────────┘    └────────────┘    └────────────┘

Throughout all of this, the ITU’s mission stayed the same:

Make systems built by different countries and vendors work together reliably.

Modern technologies—networking models, certificates, and global protocols—are built on that foundation.

So next time you casually type openssl x509 to inspect a certificate, just know you’re benefiting from a long lineage that started with Morse code, crossed international borders via telegraph wires, survived analog telephones and screaming modems, and eventually turned into neatly layered networking standards - because even your certs are older than they look.