The history of cell phones outlines an incredible journey of technological advances that bring new functions and capabilities within reach of everyone. As the future continues to push past the boundaries of what once seemed impossible, a look back at the history of cellular phones demonstrates the many innovations that have propelled the cell phone from a briefcase-sized communications tool to the pocket Web browsers we enjoy today.
Early Mobile Communication Technology
Radio technology was already widely used in modernized countries to communicate between moving vehicles, such as between trains or in ground-to-air communication with airplanes. World War II saw great advancements in radio telemetry, using the technology to communicate with tanks, ships and planes. Submarines and airplanes were equipped with radio phones, but the radio signal was patched into existing telephone systems by an operator.
History of Cell Phones: Towers and Signals
Two engineers at Bell Laboratories,the research arm of AT&T, developed the technology for cell towers that would send signals to hexagonal receiver cells in handheld phones. This was developed in the 1950s, but the technology for consumer use was generally limited to expensive mobile phones in cars, utilizing the car battery as a power source. These phones were heavy and cumbersome. Ever smaller and lighter generations were introduced in the late 1950s and 1960s. However, the range of these phones was not significant, often limited to the radius of a single base station. If the user went outside the range, there was no service.
History of Cell Phones: Multi-area Coverage
Modern cell phone technology that allowed users to move from one coverage area to another without losing the signal emerged in the 1970s, with AT&T beating out Motorola in a heated race to bring the first truly mobile phones to the US market. Although the concept was in place, it used radio waves that belong to the public. It took the Federal Communications Commission a decade to investigate AT&T's original proposal, finally agreeing to a plan in 1982. Certain parts of the radio spectrum, known as bandwidths, were dedicated to commercial phone service in several areas across the country.
Cellular Phones
Phones continued to shrink, even as they got more powerful internal components. They went from car phones to truly mobile devices; hand held, but connected to a bulky receiver unit. The first portable hand-held phones emerged in the 1980s, getting smaller and more efficient by the 1990s.
The history of cell phones is fascinating and rich. Everything from a phone's batteries, speakers and inner electronic circuitry was enhanced and miniaturized until small hand-held phones replaced the bigger and bulkier "bricks." In the late 1980s and early 1990s, cell phone transmission turned from analog to digital, increasing the quality of communications. Prepaid cellular phone accounts also emerged in the early 1990s, making this communication technology affordable on almost any budget.
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