We tend to build our communications systems in our own image. Systems and technologies are invented, then lie around indefinitely until we need them. We had the technology for the telegraph for hundreds of years before it was put into use. And this was only with the development of the railroads, which required instantaneous signaling. But just three years after Morse invented his telegraph code, The Associated Press was founded.
Communications also tend to flower when the medium becomes affordable and easy to use.
The invention of the telegraph key became the gateway to its widespread use. In telephony, the inexpensive handset was the driving force. With the Internet, this key will be affordable and easy to use terminal equipment. This is a unique moment in history, however. Never before has a technology come along that has allowed so many of us to connect to so many things so cheaply.