How has cellular phone technology advanced?

History of cell phone technology

AT&T and Bell Labs introduced their prototype cellular phone system in 1977 and began public trials a year later in Chicago with about 2000 customers. Motorola and American Radio telephone started a second prototype system test in the Washington D.C. area in 1981. In 1982, the FCC authorized commercial cell service in the United States.

Later that year, the first commercial cellular service was made available in the U.S. Its analog service was termed AMPS (Advanced Mobile Phone Service). Within five years in 1987, the airways were crowded as the demand had far outreached the technology. The FCC decided to allow cellular phone companies to use alternative frequencies in the 800 MHz band.

The Cellular Technology Industry Association (CTIA) was established in 1988 to work with the cellular service operators and researchers to identify practical technology goals. A new standard was put into place in 1991 by the Telecommunications Industry Association with the creation of the TDMA Interim Standard 54.

In 1994, the FCC announced it was allocating spectrum specifically for Personal Communications Services (PCS) technologies. PCS is the name for the 1900 MHz radio band used for digital cellular phone services in the United States, Mexico and Canada. Three major standards have been released since 1991, all of which are currently being used in PCS.

According to the Telecommunications Industry Association, there are currently more than 60 million customers with cellular phones and the cellular phone market has grown to become a $30 billion per year industry.