The Evolution of the Wireless 'Cell Phone' Industry ~

As I rapidly approach the 20 year mark, from the time I had the good fortune of getting in on the ground level of the 'wireless telecommunication industry,' I thought it might be interesting to share the changes that have occurred over this very short period of time.

As I look back over a career that has taken me from the beautiful mountains of North Central West Virginia, to a long winter in the frozen tundra of Central Wisconsin, then on to the South side of Atlanta, the change that has occurred in the 'Wireless Industry' has been amazing to say the least.

Back in the very early 90's, I had the opportunity to become part of an all new wireless provider launching cellular telephone services throughout a nine county area of Central West Virginia. I recall the excitement of turning on our first few cell sites and testing the system throughout our coverage area.

One of the interesting factors, back then, was that for the longest period of time, we did not have a single cell site that would 'hand off' to another cell site. I also remember, throughout the initial testing period, of how difficult it was to maintain calls when traveling up and down the mountainous terrain of North Central West Virginia.

Back in those days, as some of you may recall, we actually offered 'bag phones.' In most cases, this was the device of choice for most, since bag phones were 3 watt transceivers, as compared to .6 watt hand held devices. Since there were so few cell sites, the 3 watt bag phones were able to maintain greater clarity and hold calls for longer periods of time.

The 'bag phones' were more like domestic telephones with a corded handset that was attached to the brains and battery of the unit. They normally powered up through a cigarette lighter power adaptor and used an external magnetic antenna.

Being the first of two cellular providers to launch in our licensing area, we shared in all the initial excitement, as well as all the pitfalls that a new technology experiences.

Just a share a few funny situations, I recall one customer that called and told me that he wanted to cancel his agreement. When asked why, he replied that his phone would only call one number. The situation was that when I delivered the phone and showed him how to use it, we placed a call to his home. So, every time he wanted to place a call, he would first press the green 'send' button and them try to dial his number. What was actually happening, since all cell phones have automatic previous number re-dial, he was reaching his home every time he thought he was placing another call.

Another time, a customer stopped me on the street and said he wanted to cancel his service since we did not publish a cellular telephone book. I don't know anyone else that has a cellular phone, so why the heck have this thing. His thinking was that he could only call cell phones, not understanding that he could place calls to any normal telephone number.

Those were the crazy, early days of Cellular One in North Central West Virginia.

About 4 1/2 years after launching the market in North Central West Virginia, I had the opportunity to move to Central Wisconsin as Regional Manager with Cellular One. This was a fun task, taking on a market that had not performed well, but offered great potential.

Once again, Cellular One had been the first provider in this remotely rural area, and people were primed for a mode of communication that allowed mobility without being tied to a desk and telephone.

By this time, phones were getting smaller in size and the new craze seemed to be the Motorola Flip-Phone. Central Wisconsin was prime potato farming country, and I remember so many professional farmers actually purchasing 'bag-phones' to be placed in the cab of their massive big tractors.

My stay in Wisconsin was rather short lived. Our owners sold our market to U.S. Cellular and soon, I found my self headed for West Georgia.

The Cellular One market in West Georgia was the largest of the many markets that our owners controlled. Located just 30 miles south of Atlanta, acceptance of wireless communication was at a fever pitch by the time I arrived. We continued to grow that market as more and more people were accepting cellular technology, especially the thousands upon thousands of people that commuted to Atlanta on an everyday basis.

It wasn't until several years later when I had joined Sprint that the wireless industry really started going through some remarkable change. Technology was changing almost on a quarterly basis. Soon, we saw the introduction of camera phones, ring tones, texting was becoming more and more popular among the younger set, and soon there after, direct Internet connections from a person's cell phone was the latest rage.

Users were now able to share pictures almost immediately, select their favorite songs or artists as personalized ring tones, and text short messaging to almost any other cellular phone. Looking back, this all seems so common place now.

Apple and A.T.&T. combined forces to launch the i-Phone and wireless was never the same thereafter. The most recent launch of the i-Phone 4 is at a new level of technology that can almost overwhelm many of us. Think I'll just stick to my 'Palm Treo' for a little while longer.

Cell phones will probably not get much smaller in size, but the refinement, picture quality, and the addition of thousands of applications, will continue well into the future.

Looking back at the original Motorola 'Brick-Phone' which weighed two pounds and those miserable, ugly 'bag-phones' of the early 90's, we'd all have to agree that the 'wireless industry' has come a long way in the past twenty years.

In closing, I almost forgot the latest form of wireless technology; 'wireless Internet' services. In Atlanta, and thirty other major metro areas across the country, Clearwire has introduced a high speed Internet service called "Clear." Clear offers the latest in 4G (fourth generation) wireless data technology. This is an amazing technology and is being accepted at a rapidly growing rate. For those of you that might not be caught up in the technology world, or consider yourself, 'technology challenged,' the difference between 3G and 4G is simply 'speed,' the rate of speed of connection.

Not only does Clear offer a home or office Internet solution, but also mobility offered through small USB devices, embedded chips in laptops and notebooks, and soon to launch, wireless 'hot spots' all contained in a device smaller than a cell phone, all offering high speed Internet connections without any connection to cable lines, telephone lines or any other type of wired connection.

So, who knows where the wireless world will take us in the next ten years. All I can say is that it has been an amazing trip so far.

Who would of thought when we launched a small wireless market in North Central West Virginia, that the industry would have come as far as it has in this very short period of time.

Before closing, I almost forgot the wireless connectivity to all the various 'social networks.' On almost a daily basis, I make my morning posts to 'facebook,' all through the convenience of my cell phone.

Wow, so there's my little 'whirlwind tour' of the wireless communication industry just from my point of view. Having worked for 5 different companies throughout a 20 year career, all I can say is that it's been fun, interesting and very rewarding, and who knows where it will take us next.

Oh yes, I really need to get a new cell phone, but I hate to have to re-learn and re-set a new device. By the way, my personal cell phone ring tone is . . . The West Virginia Mountaineer Marching Band playing 'Simple Gifts.' It really can't get much better than that.

And to think, there are still some folks out there that think of a 'blackberry' as a type of their favorite cobbler. . . and oh yes, remember when we all called the Internet, the 'Information Super Highway.' Things really have changed.

Have a nice evening friends and do come back and visit my blog again soon!