When talking about the earliest mobile phones many people are surprised to hear how far back they really go. They are an invention mostly associated with the 80’s and the era of yuppieism and materialism that seemed to hit the UK. The truth is that cellular phones can trace their origin much further back. The cell phone has its roots in mobile communication technology that first manifested itself in the early 1900. The police department of Detroit Michigan developed the first mobile radio. It operated at 2 Hz and boasted the feature of allowing two people to talk to each other at the same time.
Although this technology was very primitive when compared to phones today, it did lay the ground work for the future of the cell phone and planted the idea for further development. Nearly 50 years passed before any further significant breakthroughs in cell technology were achieved. In 1947 the idea came to combine the mobile radios. Each has its own cell or range and it was thought that this would create the possibility for more users. The FCC at the time gave a limited band of frequencies to this project. It enables about 20 people in a given area to speak at the same time. Again, compared to today’s technology, it is very primitive. However, this did give ATT the incentive to research and develop the technology further.
1968 saw the next significant breakthrough in cell technology. The FCC was excited by the previous results and wanted to explore further opportunities. They allowed a series of broadcast towers, created by Bell labs. These towers would each use a few of the newly added frequencies that were given in 1947. Although the amount of frequencies did not change, the broadcast towers enabled the service to be extended.
In 1979, the first commercial cellular phone was displayed in Tokyo Japan. 3 years later the phones were for sale in the United States. These more modern styles of phones make use of frequencies and cell splitting. This means that several people can use the same frequency at the same time as long as they are located in different cells. This increases the capacity greatly and allows users people to gain access at the same time.
The cellular phone technology of the 1980’s became a status symbol. Cell phones were huge and bulky, but were also very expensive to buy and to use. They soon became associated with the corporate world and those with money. Gradually, as they size of these phones decreased, so did their price. More and more people began to be able to afford these cellular mobile phones and the sales skyrocketed. The more the sales increased, the more companies were able to reduce rates and prices per unit. This made the demand increase even more.
Eventually, people became bored with the 80’s style cell phone, once the novelty wore off people lost interest. The phones at that time had a very limited range of service and were used strictly for speaking. The companies knew that they had to change something if they were to stay in business. This gradually added to the wide range of features that we have on cell phones today. It also added to the decrease in size and increase in quality. Today cell phones are constantly able to do more and more and some wonder, where will it all ends.
When considering the history of the cell phone, most would place its origin at about the mid 1980’s. Many are surprised to hear that the technology dates back much farther than this. Even the staunchest of cell phone critics must admit that the technology has moved on exponentially from its beginnings at the turn of the century.
