History of Cell Phones: Introduction

We all remember getting our first cell phone, but not many of us really know the history behind the cell phone and the major players involved in bringing this technology to the general public. Starting back in 1908, we can trace the US Patent 887,357 for a wireless telephone to Nathan B. Stubblefield who lived in Murray, Kentucky. While the term wireless telephone sounds similar to what we have come to know as cell phones, his intended use was for a patent to “cave radio” telephones.

Now let’s fast foward to the year 1947 when cells for mobile phone base stations were invented by Bell Labs Engineers at At&t and subsequently received continued development throughout the 1960s.  This was the pivitol point in the history of the cell phone we have grown to love today.

History of Cell Phones: Motorola

For the purpose of our discussion, the simple answer to who developed the present day cell phone is Martin Cooper.  Martin Cooper was a Motorola researcher and executive who is considered the inventor of the first practical mobile phone for handheld use in a non-vehicle setting.  While car phones are nice, a cell phone means being able to travel and completed phone conversations without the hindrance of wires or fixed battery power.  Cooper made the first call on a handheld mobile on April 3, 1973 and since this point the mobile world has evolved to what we know as the cell phone in present day.

Although the invention of the cell phone is important, the carriers involved in making service possible should never be overlooked.  The first commercial citywide cellular network was launched in Japan of all places by NTT in 1979 which is little surprise to those of you who follow the mobile industry.  With the most advanced cell phone networks to date, Japan’s current position in the mobile industry can be directly linked to their leading role in carrier evolution.

History of Cell Phones: 0G zero generation

The most common term we hear today when thinking about cell phones is what generation technology are our phones capable of utilizing.  The big in term today is 3g, or third generation, but from a history standpoint the most important generation is 0g: zero generation.  We can trace back zero generation to 1945 when 0g mobile phones, were not cellular and did not allow passing from one base station to the next or reuse of radio frequency channels.  At this time a powerful base station covering a wide area would monopolize a channel over that whole area when it was in use.

The First Phone: Motorola DynaTAC

The Motoroal DynaTAC is considered the first cell phone by present day standards.  It was first approved by the FCC back in 1983 and thanks to Bell Labs it was able to operated on modern commercial cellular technology.  The DynaTAC operated off multiple, centrally-controlled base stations (cell sites) with partial overlapping which allowed cell phones to operate in the environment of today.

Present Day Cell Phone Technology

Today the cell phone operates across the world primarily off of GSM networks using SIM cards.  CDMA networks make up the minority of cellular networks, with the largest CDMA networks residing within the United States.  Throughout Europe and most of Asia, GSM networks dominate with carriers offering 3G network technologies using HSDPA and HSUPA to deliver upwards of 10Mbps in prime conditions.  Japan currently operates the most advanced data cellular networks, while the sheer Area of the US, makes network upgrades an unimaginable task for carriers when weighing the cost to profit potential.  As a result, the leading GSM Network in the United States, At&t, is still far behind the curve for both downlink and uplink speeds compared to the most advanced networks.

In the United States, Sprint is currently deploying their 4g WiMAX network through a deal with Clearwire which will bring wide area broadband connections to mobile phones and electronic devices with incredible download speeds.  Meanwhile, most of the world will be focusing on the next evolution in GSM 4g technology: LTE.  LTE is already endorsed by the European Union as the ideal next generation mobile broadband technology and because of this strong feeling, even CDMA based Verizon Wireless will be using LTE 4g in their next generation wireless.