1878 – The Edison Electric Light Company began operation. After a series of mergers, it became the company we know as General Electric.
1919 – The Radio Corporation of America was formed. RCA became a giant in electronics, especially radios and TVs. It would later own its own TV network and other broadcast interests.
1954 – Texas Instruments announced the first Transistor radio. They quickly became one of the most popular electronic communication devices in history, with billions manufactured during the 60s and 70s.
In 1984 this week – The Airfone service was launched on 20 flights for those who had credit cards. Of course, you paid for that convenience of talking on the phone while in the air. Costs for the service was $7.50 for a three-minute call, $1.25 for each additional minute anywhere you wanted to call in the US.
And this week in 1994 – Netscape Communications Corporation announced that it was offering its new Netscape Navigator free to users via the Internet.