In the 1960s, at the height of the Cold War, the U.S. Department of Defense faced a critical strategic challenge: how to build a command-and-control communication system that could survive a nuclear attack. The result of their research was a groundbreaking project called ARPANET, the forerunner of the modern internet. The core principle behind its design—decentralisation and resilience—has become the foundation of our digital world and holds a vital lesson for modern industrial telecommunications. 

This article explains why network resilience is a non-negotiable requirement for any high-stakes industrial operation and how the principles of ARPANET can be applied to build networks that never fail. 

In the mid-20th century, global trade was revolutionised not by a new type of ship or a faster engine, but by a simple metal box: the standardised shipping container. The genius of the container was not the box itself, but the system it created. For the first time, it allowed goods to move seamlessly between ships, trains, and trucks, creating a single, integrated global logistics network. This revolution holds a powerful lesson for one of the biggest challenges in modern industry: the integration of Operational Technology (OT) and Information Technology (IT). 

This article explains why a standardised, well-engineered network is the key to successfully integrating your plant-floor systems with your corporate business systems. 

The great Incan road network, the Qhapaq Ñan, was one of the most impressive engineering feats of the ancient world. Spanning over 40,000 kilometres, it traversed the treacherous Andes mountains, connecting a vast and diverse empire. Its genius was not just its scale, but its resilience. The roads were built to last for centuries, engineered with a deep understanding of the harsh terrain. This ancient network provides a powerful lesson for designing the digital "roads" of modern industry: the telecommunications networks that carry our most critical data. 

This article explains why a foundation of expert network engineering is essential for the reliability and performance of any industrial operation. 

In the 9th century, the Byzantine Empire created one of the most ingenious communication systems in history. It was a chain of signal fires, or beacons, stretching over 720 kilometres across the mountains of Anatolia. By using a simple, pre-arranged code, this network could transmit a message from the frontier to the capital, Constantinople, in about an hour. It was a system built for one purpose: to deliver a critical message with maximum speed and reliability. This ancient "optical telegraph" holds a vital lesson for modern industrial telecommunications. 

This article explores the principles of network resilience and why a focus on reliability is paramount for any mission-critical communication system.