Microwave technology is extensively used for point-to-point telecommunications (i.e. non-broadcast uses). Microwaves are especially suitable for this use since they are more easily focused into narrower beams than radio waves, allowing frequency reuse; their comparatively higher frequencies allow broad bandwidth and high data transmission rates, and antenna sizes are smaller than at lower frequencies because antenna size is inversely proportional to transmitted frequency.
Microwaves were first used for radar in WWII. (1939-1945) The development of microwaves is only one step of the gradual evolution of the concept and application of electromagnetic waves. Maxwell formulated a set of equations supporting all electromagnetic phenomena, which became known as Maxwell's equations. Hertz's experiment proved further generalizations and applications which led to the development of the microwave.