A Date With History - Motorola Creates the First Portable Mobile System

The success attained by Motorola in mobileradio frequencies.
technology had its humble beginning over 80 yearsProducing the world's first wireless handheld mobile
ago. First known as the Galvin Manufacturingphone was a huge challenge. There was no model to
Corporation in Chicago, the company was alreadycompare it to as nobody had ever seen a mobile
breaking new grounds in radio technology in 1928. Inbefore. The company's industrial design team was
1930, it introduced its first branded car radio, followedtasked to design the shape of the future phone.
afterwards by a two-way mobile radio system forIn February 1973, the company had created a
police cars.fully-functional Dynamic Adaptive Total Area
In 1940, the company designed its first handheldCoverage mobile phone prototype or DynaTAC. The
two-way radio, the Handie-Talkie, for the US military.prototype mobile phone and its system concept was
From the 1940's all through the 1960's, two-waypresented to the FCC for demonstration. It was an
radios for law enforcement and commercial use, asunbelievable day of achievement for the company.
well as portable transistor radios for consumers wereRefining the mobile phone system
among the company's most popular products.The DynaTAC phone system's distinctive features
Entering the cellular technology agepaved the way to address the requirements of both
When radiotelephone service started in America incar and handheld phones. Whilst the company
1946, the company manufactured mobile telephonesconformed with US agencies in order to receive
in automobiles or car phones. As the demand forregulatory approval, the engineers relentlessly
them grew, problems with car phone systemsresearched and fine-tuned the technology. In the
emerged. Because of the lack of availablemeantime, the mobile phone concept was spreading
frequencies, only a few calls are allowed at one timethroughout the entire communication industry like
in car phone systems. Annoying long wait times arewildfire. Soon after, the company which created the
experienced by the user and radio transmissions canindustry's first wireless handheld phone started to
not be reused in areas nearby due to signalprovide systems technology and phones to the rest
interference from powerful base stations.of the world.
In 1968, a proposal was made by the FederalMotorola made further history on September 21,
Communications Commission (FCC) to allocate1983 when the US Federal Communications
frequencies ranging from 800 to 900 MHz for a newCommission approved the DynaTAC 8000X phone,
technology to address these issues. Cellularthe first commercial handheld phone in the world.
technology, conceived by Bell Laboratories (AT&T)After more than a decade and an investment of
years before, offered a possible solution.US$100 million, the company's commitments and
The mobile phone conceptdedication brought about a groundbreaking
Whilst AT&T earlier conceived a system based ontechnology which fired up the mobile communications
car phones, Motorola was determined to use itsindustry and provided a life-changing experience for
decades of radio technology expertise to lock hornsportable handset users around the globe.
with AT&T to take advantage of the proposed new