Indians awoke on Monday to find their 162-year-old telegram service rendered obsolete , superseded by SMS , e-mail and Twitter . Arguably one of the oldest victims of the digital age , telegrams were the fastest communication method from the 19th century . But Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited ( BSNL ) , India 's state-run telecommunications company , announced online that `` declining revenues '' motivated their decision to end the service . They added that their employees would be transferred to their landline , mobile and broadband divisions . It comes as no real surprise when even the mail has seen better days . The U.S. postal service lost $ 16 billion in 2012 and $ 1.9 billion in the three months ending March 30 . It also used up a $ 15 billion loan from the Treasury . In Britain , telegrams came to an end in 1982 and the queen now sends cards instead of the famous telegram congratulating centenarians and those celebrating diamond wedding anniversaries . The first ever telegram read : `` WHAT HATH GOD WROUGHT ? '' and was sent from the U.S. Supreme Court in 1844 in Morse Code from Washington to Baltimore . Unlike letters , many telegrams had the unique characteristic of typed capital letters and an abrupt `` STOP '' to mark the end of a sentence . They were usually sent to congratulate , commiserate , or deliver money or urgent news . Possibly one of the most notable tragedies to be conveyed was the sinking of the Titanic ship in 1912 . Bruce Ismay , the head of the ship 's owners White Star Line , sent this message to the headquarters in New York : `` Deeply regret advise your Titanic sunk this morning fifteenth after collision iceberg resulting serious loss life further particulars later . '' The shortest ever message was sent by Oscar Wilde ( or , according to other sources , Victor Hugo ) to his publisher , enquiring about the sales of his latest novel : `` ? '' wrote the author . `` ! '' replied his publisher . Many discovered the comical possibilities of such an exchange . American author Mark Twain served a witty one-liner to London in 1897 when his obituary had apparently been published : `` THE REPORTS OF MY DEATH ARE GREATLY EXAGGERATED . '' And if a message was misunderstood , humor ensured that all was not lost : `` HOW OLD CARY GRANT ? '' a reporter questioned the actor . `` OLD CARY GRANT FINE . HOW YOU ? '' was his supposed quip . And it 's not just email , SMS or social media that make some of us inexcusably lazy to talk to someone in the same room . British actor Peter Sellers ' wife Anne answered the door to a couriered message from her husband ordering her to bring him a cup of coffee . He was in the upstairs study . And he did n't even add a `` please '' or a `` thank you . '' His explanation could have been that words were of the essence in a telegram , since they were charged . However , 10-15 words sometimes cost the same as a single word . In a handy booklet called : `` How To Write Telegrams Properly '' published in 1929 , Nelson E. Ross set out telegram etiquette , including an appeal to preserve politeness , regardless of word count : . `` A man high in American business life has been quoted as remarking that elimination of the word 'please ' from all telegrams would save the American public millions of dollars annually , '' wrote Ross . `` 'Please ' is to the language of social and business intercourse what art and music are to everyday , humdrum existence . `` By all means let us retain the word 'please ' in our telegraphic correspondence . '' Telegrams marked moments in history or lives and are carefully preserved by individuals , framed in museums , or auctioned to collectors . Many even rushed to telegraph offices on Sunday in India to send a souvenir telegram to their families and friends , or even themselves . But all may not be lost : some global telegram companies are still in operation , even offering iPhone apps to update the service . Also , in Argentina , employees are required to send a telegram when resigning . However , although Twitter may not have the same permanence or command as its predecessor , its success speaks of its convenience : `` Last January [ 2011 ] , we had 6.86 million followers ; today , at the end of December [ 2012 ] , you are 15.4 million strong , '' boasts Twitter on their blog . Compare this to around 5,000 telegrams sent by BSNL in India a day and it is easy to see how far they lag behind . Commenting on electronic bill paying , United States Postal Service chief financial officer Joseph Corbett sums up the battle : `` It 's extremely difficult to compete with free . '' What are your memories of the telegram ? Share them in the comments section below .
India 's 162-year-old telegram service came to an end Monday . The Indian government said it would not renew the contract with a private company that provides Internet access in India. The service has been overtaken by SMS , e-mail and Twitter .