History of Cell Phones

In 1947 researchers and scientists began looking into the feasibility of mobile car phones, yet the decision by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to limit the amount of radio frequencies available for cell phone use discouraged companies from putting research dollars towards such a project. In 1968, the FCC reevaluated its position, and the race to produce the first working cell phone system was underway in the United States. In October of 1973, Dr. Martin Cooper, a project manager at Motorola, filed the first patent for such a system. Two years later, the FCC gave permission for Bell System to begin trials. In July 1978, the first mobile telephone system, Advanced Mobile Phone System, began operation in North America.

The next twenty plus years were characterized by technology races and new and inventive ways to market the mobile phone by companies all over the world. When the technology was perfected to the point where "drop-offs" were few and "dead tone areas" were virtually eliminated, these companies competed on a more cosmetic level with new colors, phone sizes, number of accessories available, and incentive buying offers. The buying public was promised the ability to instantly connect with whomever they wished, providing both parties had a cell phone and the phones were switched on. These cell phones freed Americans in a way nothing else ever had. Technology would begin to change life forever. Suddenly employees could conduct business on the way to and from work if they wished, parents could keep fairly constant tabs on their children, and people no longer had to fear being stuck on the side of the road far from a payphone. In addition, these devices provided a way for people to communicate with others even when neither party was at home.