CTIA -- The Wireless Association® Celebrates 25 Years Of Mobile Communication

October 13th marks 25th anniversary of the first commercial cell phone call. Washington, DC October 10, 2008 -- CTIA - The Wireless Association® commemorates a major industry and technology milestone this month - the 25th anniversary of the first commercial cellular call in the United States. Today, there are now more than 262 million wireless subscribers in the United States - 83 percent of the total U.S. population - and 3.3 billion active cell phones worldwide, making it one of the fastest global dispersions of any technology in history. The first commercial cellular call was placed on October 13, 1983 to the grandson of Alexander Graham Bell in Germany from the president of Ameritech Mobile Communications at a ceremony held outside of Soldier Field in Chicago, IL. This transatlantic conversation launched the nation's... [read full story]