Communication · 1983

Cellular phone network

Handoffs between small radio cells make phones truly mobile.

NTT launched the first automated cellular network in Tokyo in 1979, and Ameritech's AMPS service opened in Chicago in October 1983 with Motorola's DynaTAC handset. Reusing frequencies across cells scaled wireless calling to mass markets, reaching over 8 billion subscriptions by the 2020s.

See it in the living tree Wikipedia

Arcs above join it to what it stood on, arcs below to what it led to. The bar places this stretch on the tree's whole timeline.

What it built on 3

Microprocessor (Intel 4004) 1971
Radio 1895
Telephone exchange 1878

What it led to 3

GSM (2G digital cellular) 1991
Smartphone 2007
Satellite broadband to every phone ~2029

Related measurements

The dashed line marks when it first worked.

Mobile phone subscriptions per 100 people Latest: 112 per 100 people (2025) Source: Our World in Data

Fixed telephone lines per 100 people Latest: 9.9 per 100 people (2025) Source: Our World in Data

Share of people online Latest: 73.6 % (2025) Source: Our World in Data