The cell phone has come a long way in its 25 years

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By the Lincoln Journal Star

Pat your cell phone on its battery pack today; its species just turned a quarter-century old. 

Monday was the 25th anniversary of the first commercial wireless phone call. 

On Oct. 13, 1983, Bob Barnett, former president of Ameritech Mobile Communications, placed the first commercial wireless call from a Chrysler convertible to the grandson of Alexander Graham Bell, who was in Germany.

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A look at the evolution of the cell phone in its 25 years, from the first 'brick' available in 1983 to the multimedia offerings now on the market. (Courtesy of Verizon Wireless)

A look at the evolution of the cell phone in its 25 years, from the first 'brick' available in 1983 to the multimedia offerings now on the market. (Courtesy of Verizon Wireless)

Now, one score and five years later, there are more than 262 million wireless subscribers in the United States.

Here’s a brief history of wireless:

1876: Alexander Graham Bell invents the telephone.

1903: The first international wireless conference is held in Berlin.

1906: Reginald Fessenden completes an 11-mile wireless telephone call from  his lab in Massachusetts.

1941: Motorola two-way radio installed in police cruiser in Philadelphia.

1977: Experimental cellular systems launch in Chicago and Washington D.C.

1983: The first commercial wireless phone call is made.

Also, Motorola introduces the world’s first commercial cell phone, the DynaTAC 8000X. Dubbed “the brick,” this phone was 13 inches long, weighed nearly 2 pounds and offered just one hour of talk time and eight hours of standby for every recharging. Oh, and it cost $3,995.

1984: The Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association is founded.

1987: Cell phone industry tops $1 billion in revenue.

1990: The number of cellular subscribers surpasses 5 million.

1992: Wireless users surpasses 10 million.

1996: 38 million users.

1997: 50 million.

2000: 100 million in the United States alone.

2004: 180 million.

2008: 262 million in the United States alone.

— Source: Verizon Wireless