Spark-gap transmitter capacitance and couldn't store much charge, limiting their power output. Therefore these devices were not capable of long distance transmission; their reception range with the primitive receivers employed was typically limited to roughly 100 yards (100 meters). Italian radio pioneer Guglielmo Marconi was one of the first people to believe that radio waves could be used for long distance communication, and singlehandedly developed the first practical radiotelegraphy transmitters and receivers, mainly by combining and tinkering with the inventions of others. Starting at age 21 on his family's estate in Italy, between 1894 and 1901 he conducted a long series of
Marconi Prize communications technology for the benefit of mankind. Past winners of the Marconi Prize include Lawrence E. Page and Sergey Brin for the development of web search company Google, Tim Berners-Lee for his leadership and innovations in the World Wide Web, Noble Laureate Charles K. Kao for developing fiber-optic communications, and Martin Hellman and Whitfield Diffie for their work in security - the Diffie–Hellman key exchange. The first award was given in 1975. 1975 - 1996 1997–present Marconi Prize The Marconi Prize is an annual award recognizing achievements and advancements made in field of communications (radio, mobile, wireless, telecommunications, data communications,