ICT began when humans started communicating and sharing information with each other. It involves using technology to gather and share data through hardware, software, and networks. The history of ICT can be broken into four periods: premechanical (3000 BC to 1450), mechanical (1450 to 1840), electromechanical (1840 to 1940), and electronic (1940 to present). Key developments included the invention of the telegraph, telephone, transistor, integrated circuit, and personal computers. Today, ICT fuses hardware, software, and communication networks and is exemplified by the World Wide Web, online systems, functions, and platforms.