IEEE Milestone in Electrical Engineering and Computing for the First Real-Time Speech Communication on Packet Networks

You are here

Inside Signal Processing Newsletter Home Page

Top Reasons to Join SPS Today!

1. IEEE Signal Processing Magazine
2. Signal Processing Digital Library*
3. Inside Signal Processing Newsletter
4. SPS Resource Center
5. Career advancement & recognition
6. Discounts on conferences and publications
7. Professional networking
8. Communities for students, young professionals, and women
9. Volunteer opportunities
10. Coming soon! PDH/CEU credits
Click here to learn more.

News and Resources for Members of the IEEE Signal Processing Society

IEEE Milestone in Electrical Engineering and Computing for the First Real-Time Speech Communication on Packet Networks

The IEEE Boston Section and the IEEE Signal Processing Society presented an IEEE Milestone in Electrical Engineering and Computing to MIT Lincoln Laboratory for the “First Real-Time Speech Communication on Packet Networks, 1974 – 1982,” in a special dedication and program, which took place Thursday, 8 December 2011, at MIT Lincoln Laboratory in Lexington, MA.

The milestone plaque was engraved with the following citation:

First Real-Time Speech Communication on Packet Networks, 1974 - 1982

In August 1974, the first real-time speech communication over a packet-switched network was demonstrated via ARPANET between MIT Lincoln Laboratory and USC Information Sciences Institute. By 1982, these technologies enabled Internet packet speech and conferencing linking terrestrial, packet radio, and satellite networks. This work in real-time network protocols and speech coding laid the foundation for voice-over-internet-protocol (VoIP) communications and related applications including Internet videoconferencing.

Additional information can be found on the IEEE Boston Section website.

Open Calls

Nomination/Position Deadline
Call for Nominations: IEEE Transactions on Multimedia (TMM) Editor-in-Chief 15 June 2025
Call for Nominations: IEEE Medals & Recognitions 15 June 2025
Call For Industry Short Course Proposals is Open 15 June 2025
Call for Papers for IEEE JSTSP Special Series on Artificial Intelligence for Smart Agriculture 15 June 2025
Call for Nominations: IEEE Transactions on Multimedia (TMM) Editor-in-Chief 15 June 2025
Call For Industry Short Course Proposals is Open 15 June 2025
Call for Nominations: Fellow Evaluation Committee Member Positions 20 June 2025
Call for Nominations: Fellow Evaluation Committee Member Positions 20 June 2025
2025 IEEE SPS Scholarship Program Now Open! 30 June 2025
Call for Papers IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Signal Processing (JSTSP) Special Series on AI in Signal & Data Science -- Toward Large Language Model (LLM) Theory and Applications (Update) 1 July 2025
ICASSP 2026 Call for Satellite Workshops 9 July 2025
Call for Nominations for Chair, Women in Signal Processing Committee (WISP) 14 July 2025
Call for Nominations for Chair, Scholarship Committee 14 July 2025
Call for Nominations for Chair, Women in Signal Processing (WISP) 14 July 2025
Call for Nominations for Chair, Scholarship Committee 14 July 2025
Nominate a Colleague for a 2025 IEEE Signal Processing Society Award 1 September 2025
Nominate a Colleague for a 2025 IEEE Signal Processing Society Award 1 September 2025
Call for Mentors: 2025 IEEE SPS SigMA Program - Signal Processing Mentorship Academy 14 September 2025

Table of Contents:

SPS Social Media

IEEE SPS Educational Resources

IEEE SPS Resource Center

IEEE SPS YouTube Channel