IT ALL started with a ball hoisted up a flagpole. International telecommunications began in 1801, when the first link was established between the optical telegraph systems of Sweden and Denmark. Both networks consisted of lines of towers, each with a set of moveable panels on top. By replicating the configuration of panels at the next tower along the line, it was possible to transmit messages over great distances with unprecedented speed. Such were the military benefits of this technology that a telecoms boom ensued.