The first cell phone in the race between AT&T and Motorola

"Joel, this is Marty. I'm calling you from a cell phone - a real, portable cell phone."

These were the first words Dr. Martin Cooper said to Dr. Joel S. Engel, then the business director at AT&T, on the morning of April 3, 1973, when he called from the world's first handheld mobile phone. At that time, Mr. Cooper was the director of communications systems at Motorola and Dr. Engels' rival.

Dr. Martin Cooper made the first call using a mobile phone on April 3, 1973. (Photo: Brightside)

This moment marks the end of a long race to bring mobile connectivity to the masses.

AT&T had spent years investing heavily in cellular phones, an initiative it saw as the natural next step in the evolution of the telephone system. AT&T even approached the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for exclusive spectrum rights in an effort to monopolize the cellular market—a move the FCC welcomed because it simplified its licensing process.

In this race, Mr. Cooper’s division at Motorola also quickly launched counterattacks. They argued to the FCC that AT&T’s monopoly on spectrum was a threat to the market. At the same time, Mr. Cooper took on an ambitious project: to develop a personal communications device that wouldn’t truly confine you to a car, home, or office.

In Cooper's words, "the time was ripe for personal communications." This vision finally became a reality as he drove through traffic on Sixth Avenue on April 3, 1973. It was also the day AT&T lost and Motorola rose to the top of the telecommunications industry.

Cooper’s cell phone ran on a basic network that could be considered a precursor to everything from 0G to 5G. To connect these early devices, Motorola set up a base station on the roof of the Burlington House (now the AllianceBernstein building), connecting directly to the AT&T landline phone system.

Although rudimentary, Cooper and his team then went on to work on the first network system for two-way radio communications. In 1975, Martin Cooper was named as the principal inventor on a patent for a radiotelephone system, which is considered the first description of an operating standard for cellular network communications.

The global telecommunications industry has changed dramatically since Martin Cooper, thanks to his tireless efforts. Few inventors have impacted human communication to the same degree as Cooper. And certainly none have done so with the bold style of Martin Cooper’s legendary first mobile phone call.

Kong Anh

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