A bit of cellular Phone History

[Guest guest]

By 1977, AT & T and Bell Labs had constructed a prototype cellular

system. A year later, public trials of the new system were started in

Chicago with over 2000 trial customers. In 1979, in a separate

venture, the first commercial cellular telephone system began

operation in Tokyo. In 1981, Motorola and American Radio telephone

started a second U.S. cellular radio-telephone system test in the

Washington/Baltimore area. By 1982, the slow-moving FCC finally

authorized commercial cellular service for the USA. A year later, the

first American commercial analog cellular service or AMPS (Advanced

Mobile Phone Service) was made available in Chicago by Ameritech.

....Consumer demand quickly outstripped the 1982 system standards. By

1987, cellular telephone subscribers exceeded one million and the

airways were crowded.