Even less than a 150 years ago that would have been impossible. And prior to that communication among normal people could take months.

    • ramble81@lemmy.zipOP
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      5 hours ago

      My point was more about instantaneous communication for civilians between a ship in the middle of the sea and an airplane half a world away.

      Even if the plane existed you’re not gonna be running a telegraph cable to that or the ship. Even if you focused on radio, a general passenger wouldn’t be able to use it on a whim.

      • elephantium@lemmy.world
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        3 hours ago

        focused on radio

        And there, you’d be looking at 1901 for the first trans-Atlantic signal.

        But then again, a general passenger couldn’t use the plane’s radio on a whim back in – oh, 2003 (first airplane wifi came about in 2004 apparently). There are some layers to this thought.