| What today might seem like a simple task of making a mobile voice call was not the case prior to April 3, 1973. Thirty-five years ago in Manhattan, New York, Motorola demonstrated the first public portable cellular phone calls on its DynaTAC (DYNamic Adaptive Total Area Coverage) radio telephone and network. At a press conference held in the penthouse of the Hilton Hotel, Motorola invited FCC commissioners, their technical staff and members of the press to try the new technology. Martin Cooper, Motorola’s director of systems operations, placed the first call, then encouraged others to make calls. With this event the communications industry was changed forever. Ten years later, on September 21, 1983, Motorola made history when the FCC approved the DynaTAC 8000X phone, the world's first commercial portable cell phone. Making History: Developing the Portable Cellular System
Motorola’s success in cellular had its roots in the company’s earlier technology research. Born as the Galvin Manufacturing Corporation in Chicago in 1928, the company was a radio communications pioneer. The company produced its first Motorola-branded car radio in 1930, followed soon by radios for public safety officers. In 1940, Motorola developed its first handheld radio — the Handie-Talkie™ portable two-way radio, designed for the U.S. military. More two-way radios for public safety and businesses, and entertainment radios for consumers — many of them portable — were among the products the company made during the 1940s through the 1960s. Years of engineering experience led to Motorola's vision of personal, portable communications. From the company’s initial tests in 1973, the result was the world's first commercial portable cellular phone in 1983. Motorola's DynaTAC 8000X phone and the cellular system behind it transformed how the world communicates. When Motorola engineers began researching cellular technology, they soon recognized its potential. But their vision went far beyond car-based phone technology. The company's idea was a big one: It would involve not only creating a portable wireless phone, but also building the system and infrastructure to support it. In 1968, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) proposed to allocate frequencies in the 800-900 MHz range for a new technology to solve the frustrations and limitations for car-based phone technology. Cellular technology was a possible solution. The Motorola team would have to prove to the FCC that a cellular system compatible with portable phones would work. They did not have much time as there was fierce competition from other companies. Creating the first portable cell phone in the world was an enormous challenge. No one had ever seen one before, so there was nothing to compare it to. Martin Cooper called on Motorola's industrial design director, Rudy Krolopp, and his team to design the shape of the phone. A three-dimensional model needed to be built within days in order to have a working prototype for an FCC meeting in six weeks. After several days of continual work, Krolopp's team gathered for dinner at a nearby restaurant to present their concepts. Hours later, they emerged with a winning design. "We called it a shoe phone, because it sort of looked a little bit like a boot," recalled Krolopp. The design and engineering teams began to work together at a fast pace. The engineers' challenge now was to make the electronics small enough to fit in the handset that Krolopp’s team designed. Fortunately, because of Motorola’s two-way radio and semiconductor experience, the company already held patents on, and manufactured, much of the basic electronics needed for a portable phone system. By February of 1973, Motorola had produced a working DynaTAC portable phone prototype. They presented the DynaTAC prototype phone and system concept to the FCC, which soon announced that it would hold new hearings on allocating spectrum for cellular service. On September 16, 1975, Motorola was granted U.S. patent number 3,906,166 entitled “Radio telephone system.” The patent included Motorola engineers Martin Cooper, Richard Dronsuth, Albert J. Leitich, Charles N. Lynk, Jr., James J. Mikulski, John F. Mitchell, Roy A. Richardson, and John H. Sangster. It was an incredible achievement for the Motorola team. But they now faced another challenge: designing a commercial large area system that would enable their portable phone to operate. Designing a Portable System
The DynaTAC cellular system required phone calls to be switched from cell to cell as users traveled. Making that happen without a high rate of dropped calls required innovative engineering. And foremost, Motorola had to create a high capacity system that worked with both portable phones and mobile car phones. The Motorola engineering team’s concept involved designing a large number of overlapping cells in a geographic area. Computerized network equipment tracked the moving caller through the system and automatically switched the call to a new cell and frequency as the caller changed locations (a process known as "hand-off"). The system automatically adjusted the phone's transmitting power so it would not interfere with neighboring cell sites and linked the call with the wireline telephone network. Specialized directional antennas focused the radio signal where it was needed. As more people subscribed to cellular services, the system could be expanded by splitting cells and making many smaller cells within the same geographic area. Because the radio channels used a narrower bandwidth than the older car radiotelephone system, hundreds more available channels meant more people could share the same radio spectrum. To test their concept, Motorola engineers spent many hours in Chicago, New York City and Washington, D.C., deploying experimental equipment, taking measurements and testing radio signals. The prototype system now was ready for a market trial with paying subscribers. When the F.C.C. granted a developmental license for the Baltimore-Washington, D.C., area in 1977, Motorola supplied DynaTAC cellular equipment. One user summarized the new experience: "My business calls are automatically forwarded to my DynaTAC portable and I’m always in touch!" The DynaTAC cellular radiophone system’s unique features created a complete system tailored to the needs of both car and portable phones. Motorola began supplying systems and phones to other countries. Transforming Our Communications into 2008
Motorola's commitment to the DynaTAC system produced an innovative portable technology that revolutionized the communications industry and changed the lives of many people around the world. Since the FCC approval of DynaTAC in 1983, Motorola has been a trendsetter in offering new innovative mobile devices and network systems to all parts of the world. Motorola continues to unveil award-winning mobile devices to bring better features, more applications and an overall exciting experience to the consumer. 4G/WiMAX and LTE networks are being built in rural and urban regions around the world to help connect the unconnected. Meanwhile, femtocell technology brings about a truly connected home environment with information, entertainment and services in a faster and more efficient manner. Enterprises, governments and public safety agencies can find mobile devices and network solutions to better deliver real-time information into the hands that need it most so they can focus on their mission, not the technology. On this day, take a moment to think about what life might be like had the calls in Manhattan not taken place. While we’ve seen a tremendous enhancement in the way we live, work and play through mobile communications, join Motorola in our excitement about what’s to come in five, ten or another thirty-five years.
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